South Korea's KOSPI plunges 5.7% on Friday, triggering a sell sidecar

South Korea's KOSPI index closed 5.72% lower at 6,690.62 on Friday, 24 July 2026, a drop that left it nearly 30% below its June peak. The Korea Exchange activated a sell 'sidecar' at 11:23 a.m. local time to briefly halt program selling, the 21st such sell-side curb of 2026.

Shares of the two technology giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each fell about 6%. Investors are worried that the oil price surge driven by the war in West Asia could raise global inflationary pressure, while doubts over AI spending weighed on chip stocks.

The sell-off shows how the Iran-linked oil and geopolitical shock is reverberating through Asian equity markets as well.