SEOUL, May 15 (AJP) — South Korean stocks suffered a brutal reversal Friday as the benchmark KOSPI plunged more than 6 percent, wiping out all gains made earlier this week after foreign and institutional investors rushed to lock in profits once the index briefly crossed the 8,000 mark.
The KOSPI closed down 6.12 percent at 7,493.18 after swinging wildly between an intraday high of 8,046.78 and a low of 7,371.68.
The selloff marked the first intraday drop of more than 6 percent since March 23 and highlighted how quickly sentiment deteriorated as concerns mounted over rising Japanese interest rates, surging oil prices and a broader global bond-yield repricing.
The index had initially extended its AI-driven rally in early trading, supported by continued gains in robotics and semiconductor-related shares, before foreign investors abruptly turned into aggressive sellers.
Retail investors rushed in to buy the dip, purchasing a net 7.22 trillion won ($5.50 billion) worth of KOSPI shares. Foreign investors dumped 5.6 trillion won, while institutions sold 1.73 trillion won.
Volatility intensified in the afternoon, prompting the Korea Exchange to activate a sell-side sidecar at 1:28 p.m. after KOSPI200 futures plunged more than 5 percent.
The sharp reversal came despite relatively firm semiconductor sentiment overnight in the United States, where the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 0.5 percent amid continued optimism surrounding AI demand and NVIDIA-linked supply chains.
Investors instead shifted focus toward mounting macroeconomic risks tied to global interest rates and energy markets.
Brent crude futures climbed above $107 per barrel while West Texas Intermediate crude traded above $103 as tensions surrounding Iran and the Strait of Hormuz escalated further. Concerns deepened after reports indicated severe disruptions to oil flows through the strategic shipping route, fueling fears of prolonged supply shortages and renewed global inflation pressure.
The Korean won also weakened sharply alongside the equity rout, ending at 1,500.3 per dollar, up 0.5 percent from the previous session, as investors sought safe-haven assets.
Semiconductor heavyweights led the decline as foreign investors concentrated selling on large-cap AI beneficiaries that had powered the recent rally.
Samsung Electronics fell 8.6 percent to 270,500 won, while SK hynix dropped 7.7 percent to 1,819,000 won. Foreign investors sold more than 1.17 trillion won worth of Samsung Electronics shares and 639.9 billion won worth of SK hynix during the session.
The broad market weakness contrasted with continued speculative strength in selected robotics and physical AI-related stocks.
LG Electronics surged 10.8 percent to 240,500 won, extending its recent rerating rally after stronger-than-expected earnings and expanding cooperation with global AI firms including NVIDIA and Google DeepMind. Investors increasingly viewed the company as a potential hardware-platform beneficiary in the emerging physical AI ecosystem.
Doosan Robotics also jumped 19.3 percent to 127,400 won as investors rotated into humanoid robotics and automation-related plays. The stock has recently attracted strong inflows on expectations that tightening U.S. restrictions on Chinese robotics technologies could benefit Korean suppliers.
Transportation-related redevelopment plays also remained resilient despite the broader market collapse. Dongyang Express rose 17.1 percent while Chunil Express gained 12 percent as investors continued betting on redevelopment value tied to Seoul Express Bus Terminal assets ahead of local election-related policy discussions.
In contrast, construction and infrastructure shares came under heavy pressure as risk appetite deteriorated rapidly. Daewoo E&C plunged 12.6 percent to 28,500 won, while Doosan Enerbility fell 5.4 percent and Korea Electric Cable dropped 7.1 percent.
The tech-heavy KOSDAQ also slumped sharply, falling 5.14 percent to 1,129.82 after moving between 1,197.23 and 1,110.16 during the session.
Foreign investors bought a net 398.2 billion won worth of KOSDAQ shares, while retail investors sold 144.9 billion won and institutions offloaded 13.7 billion won.
Robotics-related names that had surged earlier in the week reversed sharply. Cosmo Robotics plunged 16.3 percent after recent speculative gains, while broader secondary battery and semiconductor equipment shares also weakened significantly.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.2 percent to 61,268.90 as AI-related shares came under pressure following disappointing earnings guidance from Fujikura, raising concerns over stretched semiconductor and data-center valuations.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.9 percent to 25,898.8, while China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 1.2 percent to 4,218.4.
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