South Korean stocks fell sharply on Monday, with the Kospi dropping 8.8% before a circuit breaker halted trading for 20 minutes. Samsung Electronics slid 11% and SK Hynix fell 10%, sending the index back to a 15% decline from its recent peak.

The sell‑off stemmed from fears that the AI‑driven rally is overheating. Foreign investors offloaded more than $10 billion of Kospi shares last week, while the won hit its weakest level against the dollar since March 2009.

Korea’s regulators convened an emergency meeting to assess volatility and plan stabilising measures. The government pledged firm action against speculative trading, and the won recovered up to 0.5% after the intervention.

The crash illustrates how concentrated exposure to semiconductor leaders can trigger rapid corrections. Market participants now face the risk of a “Black Monday” scenario with currency weakness, interest‑rate repricing and profit taking converging.