Kospi drops nearly 10% as South Korea triggers a circuit breaker amid heavy selling in AI and semiconductor stocks

📉 The Kospi closed the June 23 session at 8,203.84 points, down 9.99%, marking one of the sharpest daily declines in the index’s history. During the session, Korea Exchange triggered a circuit breaker at 14:33 KST after the market fell more than 8%, halting trading for 20 minutes.
⚠️ A sidecar mechanism had already been activated earlier in the day, showing that selling pressure had been building well before the final stretch of the session. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both dropped more than 12%, highlighting how heavily the Kospi remains exposed to the semiconductor sector and the broader AI theme.
💢 The main pressure came from profit-taking after an overheated rally, as South Korean equities had been strongly supported by AI expectations, foreign inflows, and chip-related stocks. Once US tech names came under pressure, highly leveraged positions in Korea quickly became a weak point.
🔎 This looks more like a sharp technical correction than a full rejection of the long-term AI narrative. Still, the move is a clear reminder that valuations had already priced in a lot of optimism, while foreign flows and leverage can amplify volatility when market sentiment turns.
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