South Korean stocks plunged 7.56% on Thursday, wiping out nearly 400 trillion won (approximately US$297.7 billion) in market capitalization, weighed down by concerns about the sustainability of capital expenditures in artificial intelligence and the outlook for the semiconductor industry. The KOSPI index has fallen by about 20% in seven consecutive trading days since October 6, with a market capitalization loss exceeding 1,100 trillion won. Foreign investors net sold 3.6 trillion won worth of stocks, extending their net selling streak to eight trading days. Institutional investors and retail investors net bought 1.69 trillion won and 1.29 trillion won respectively, buying on dips. Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daeshin Securities, stated, "The South Korean KOSPI index is currently down 40.4% from its peak of 9,385 points on June 19, approaching the median decline of 43.7% in the previous seven market crises, including Black Monday in 1987, the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000, and the global financial crisis in 2008."
