
The dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul during morning trading hours, Monday. Yonhap
Korea's bourse operator on Monday activated a sell-side sidecar for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) after the index fell sharply, led by losses in semiconductors.
Program trading in KOSPI-listed shares was suspended for five minutes around 11:22 a.m., according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).
The KOSPI fell nearly 4.25 percent as of 11:25 a.m.
The decline came amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, after a third member of the U.S. military died during a weekend of attacks between the United States and Iran.
A sell-side sidecar is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures Index falls 5 percent or more for at least one minute.