South Korea Halts KOSPI and KOSDAQ Together for First Time Since July

South Korea’s KOSPI and KOSDAQ were halted together Thursday for the first time since July, as the KOSPI’s 7.57% decline brought the country’s financial regulator into an emergency session.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC), South Korea’s financial regulator, convened at 1:30 a.m. ET (05:30 UTC). FSC Commissioner Lee Won-geon chaired the session.

The FSC described the pace of the decline as excessive and said it was ready to activate contingency plans.

At the close, the KOSPI was down 7.57%. SK Hynix fell 11.06%, while Samsung Electronics lost 9.48%. Each stock dropped more than the index, extending the selloff across the two companies and the broader Korean equity market.

For crypto traders tracking regional risk, the episode stands as a cross-market stress signal. The FSC’s emergency meeting and contingency-plan statement add a regulatory response to the selloff, while the KOSPI, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics all ended the session lower after a sharp day for South Korean stocks.