South Korea's KOSPI plunges nearly 10% on chip stock rout

Business Jun 23, 2026

South Korea's stock market took a big hit on Tuesday, with the KOSPI index dropping nearly 10%, its steepest fall since March.
This was mostly because foreign investors rushed to sell after Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, two major chipmakers, saw their shares tumble more than 12%.
Billions vanished from their market value, trading was briefly paused, and the shock quickly spread to other markets.

KOSPI had soared past 9,100 points

Just days before the crash, KOSPI had soared past 9,100 points thanks to those same chip giants.
Regulators had warned things were getting overheated and risky.
The fallout didn't stop in South Korea: India's Sensex dropped 700 points in an hour and closed down by more than 1%, while Nifty followed suit.