Kospi Halts Trading After Chip Stocks Plunge, With Samsung and SK Hynix Down About 10%
A Kospi circuit breaker halted trading in South Korea on Thursday, October 15, 2026, after a technology-led sell-off pushed the benchmark index down more than 8% from the previous close. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the country’s two biggest chipmakers, each lost roughly 10% of their value, and the tech-heavy Kosdaq also hit a circuit breaker.
The Korea Exchange suspended trading across the main market at 12:38 p.m. local time for 20 minutes. At its lowest point of the day, the Kospi was down more than 9%, at 5,450.81, before recovering part of the loss. The Korea Herald reported that the index finished more than 7% lower, back at levels last seen in July.
How the Kospi circuit breaker unfolded
SK hynix closed down about 11% at 1.26 million won. Samsung Electronics fell about...