The market index fell more than 5% on Monday, triggering a short stop as a heavy tech selloff gripped Seoul. The Korea Exchange switched on a sell-side sidecar mechanism to slow the drop. Market entry into bear territory followed steep losses in AI chip stocks. Overseas investors recorded historic outflows during 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 released the sidecar order as the sharp fall deepened across the board.