The KOSPI index dropped 7% in a single day, with Samsung and SK Hynix both falling over 9%, once again highlighting the role of South Korea's tech stocks as a "geopolitical risk indicator" in the global market. From the retrieved materials, since March, the KOSPI has experienced multiple sharp fluctuations triggered by the Middle East situation and oil price volatility, with historical highs on May 4 and 11 due to expectations of easing tensions. This pattern of emotional reversal within a very short period (from the new high on May 11 to the crash on May 15) has become the norm.

The most critical detail is that the reason mentioned in today's news flash, "limited progress in US-Iran peace negotiations," is entirely consistent with the narrative logic of the fluctuations in March and April. This indicates that the market's pricing of geopolitical risks has become highly dependent on a single, unstable flow of information, where even minor reversals in negotiation progress can be amplified into systemic sell-offs. South Korea's technology heavyweight stocks, especially Samsung and SK Hynix, due to their key positions in the global semiconductor supply chain, have become liquidity outlets for hedging geopolitical uncertainties, with their stock price volatility far exceeding that of the index itself.
On May 15, soaring oil prices combined with limited progress in US-Iran peace negotiations intensified market concerns over inflation and economic outlook uncertainties, leading to a 7.00% intraday plunge in the KOSPI index, with Samsung and SK Hynix falling by 9.8% and 9.04%, respectively. $ETH
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