South Korean stocks plunged sharply on Tuesday, with the Kospi falling over 8% from record highs as investors sold off major chip stocks amid concerns that the market rally had become overstretched. SK Hynix dropped more than 11%, while Samsung Electronics fell over 8%, prompting the Korea Exchange to halt trading for 20 minutes through circuit breakers.

South Korea's KOSPI index plunged 8.3% as Samsung and SK Hynix led a semiconductor sell-off, triggering circuit breakers for the third time in 2026.

South Korean stocks plunged sharply on Tuesday, with the Kospi falling over 8% from record highs as investors sold off major chip stocks amid concerns that the market rally had…