The market index fell more than 5% on Monday, triggering a brief trading halt as a heavy tech selloff gripped Seoul. The Korea Exchange engaged a sell-side sidecar mechanism to slow the drop. Market move into bear territory followed sharp losses in AI chip stocks. Foreign investors recorded historic outflows amidst the market decline. The South Korean won dropped below 1,500 per U.S. dollar during the session. Both the Nikkei 225 and KOSPI started down due to broad investor concern. Financial Times reported that traders now fret over the future of AI chipmakers. Bloomberg highlighted a rotation trade force Korean stocks down while Chinese markets surged. KRX put out the sidecar order as the sharp fall worsened across the board.