South Korea's KOSPI Plunges Over 8%, Erasing $350 Billion
South Korea's flagship KOSPI index plunged over 8%, triggering a circuit breaker that halted trading for 20 minutes and wiping out approximately $350 billion from the market in a single week. The selloff, which pushed the benchmark to around 8,300, was concentrated in semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, turning weak sentiment around global AI chip demand into a broad equity liquidation.
Building leverage is amplifying the market's swings. Margin borrowing for equities has doubled since early 2025 to a record $26 billion, while leveraged exchange-traded funds tracking Samsung and SK Hynix grew 200% to $9.1 billion since late May. With the two chipmakers accounting for roughly 60% of the KOSPI's market capitalization, Goldman Sachs said the leverage buildup has created a feedback loop that forces brokers to liquidate 4% to 5% of margin-backed positions during sharp pullbacks.
From the sources (25 posts)
@globalmktobserv‼️South Korean stocks have never been this volatile: The KOSPI 200 Volatility Index is up to a record ~95, implying daily moves of ~6% in the underlying index, according to Bloomberg. This puts Korea's fear gauge at nearly 5 times the US
@globalmktobserv‼️ South Korean stocks just had a black Tuesday Extreme market concentration, record leverage, and retail euphoria at historic highs are the classic ingredients of a bubble TAP IMAGE TO SEE FULL INSIGHT👇
@globalmktobserv@KobeissiLetter 🔴The most extreme ETF bubble in Korean market history emerged in weeks: The 16 Korea-listed leveraged ETFs tracking Samsung and SK Hynix have grown +200% since launch in late May to ~$9.1 billion in assets. TAP IMAGE TO SE
@firstsquawkKOSPI Declines 2% as Seoul Stocks Open Lower
@bulltheoryioBREAKING: Korea Exchange briefly halted program selling as KOSPI crashed -6%. Over ₩366,000,000,000,000 ($246 BILLION) has been wiped out from the South Korean stocks.
@firstsquawkKOSPI Declines 6% as Seoul Stocks Tumble
@tradfi*SEOUL STOCK MARKET'S KOSPI FALLS 6%, ERASING MICRON EARNINGS RALLY
@negligible_capKospi down almost 7%. SK Hynix and Samsung both down over 7%. The Kospi has now given up all gains from yesterday’s $MU pump. Tomorrow could be an ugly day for semis
@zerohedge*SOUTH KOREA'S KOSPI INDEX FALLS 7% TO 8,303.60
@businessSouth Korean stocks fell as renewed selling in chipmakers highlighted their heightened sensitivity to swings in global AI sentiment
@macroedgeresSouth Korea’s KOSPI flagship index rocked by volatility as young men lever up to the tunes of tens of thousands of USD in ‘guaranteed to win market’ #MacroEdge
@firstsquawkKOSPI Trading Suspended for 20 Minutes After Circuit Breakers Activated: Korea Exchange
@negligible_cap*S. KOREA'S KOSPI TRADING HALTED FOR 20 MINUTES AFTER 8% DROP And now halted
@kobeissiletterBREAKING: South Korea’s stock market has been halted limit down after falling over -8%.
@businessSouth Korean stocks fell as renewed selling in chipmakers highlighted their heightened sensitivity to swings in global AI sentiment
@cryptorover🚨 SOUTH KOREA JUST HIT THE PANIC BUTTON. The KOSPI crashed over -8%, triggering a market halt and wiping out roughly ₩400,000,000,000,000 from Korean stocks.
@polymarketBREAKING: South Korea’s KOSPI has triggered a market-wide circuit breaker after plunging more than 8%.
@cointelegraph🚨 JUST IN: South Korea's KOSPI triggered a circuit breaker after plunging over 8%, halting trading for 20 minutes.
@macroedgeresSouth Korea KOSPI index halted #MacroEdge
@oilheadlinenewsS. KOREA'S KOSPI TRADING HALTED FOR 20 MINUTES AFTER 8% DROP
@saxena_puru$KOSPI down 9% , trading halted. Memory stocks selling off hard despite $MU ER. Parabolic moves are punctuated by sharp pullbacks and they ultimately end in perfect Bell-Curve formations.
@barchartBREAKING 🚨 : South Korea Korean Market temporarily halted after stocks plunge 8% 📉 📉 What the hell is going on in Korea this week?
@cryptoroverChina's stock market wipes out OVER ¥1,645,000,000,000. Damn...
@cryptorover🚨 KOSPI JUST CLOSED ONE OF ITS WORST WEEK OF 2026. South Korean market is down 10% in just one week, wiping out roughly ₩550 TRILLION ($350 BILLION) from the market. AI and semiconductor stocks are leading the collapse as panic spreads ac
@kobeissiletterSouth Korean investors have never borrowed this much to buy equities: Margin loans in South Korea are up to a record ~$26 billion, DOUBLING since the start of 2025. However, as a % of Korea's free float, the portion of the market value av