KOSPI Plunges 12.08% on July 29, Approaching Unprecedented Level 2 Circuit Breaker at -15%

According to Yonhapinfomax, the KOSPI index plunged 12.08% (727.66 points) to 5,296.00 on July 29 afternoon, with the KOSDAQ also falling 10.40% (73.39 points) to 632.46. A Level 1 circuit breaker was triggered for the second consecutive day at noon, halting trading for 20 minutes, but selling pressure resumed after markets reopened.

The KOSPI is now just 2.92 percentage points away from the Level 2 circuit breaker threshold at -15%, which has never been activated in South Korean market history. If triggered, all trading and order entries would be suspended for 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of single-price trading.