The benchmark Kospi started 5.9 percent lower and extended losses to decline as low as 6.9 percent in early trading.
Six minutes after the opening bell, a sidecar was activated in the Kospi to halt computer-programmed trading for five minutes. It is imposed when stock futures fluctuate more than 5 percent for at least a minute.
The Kospi retreated 56.43 points, or 3.60 percent, to trade at 1,509.72 as of 12:25 a.m., and the small-cap Kosdaq slumped 13.30 points, or 2.84 percent, to quote at 454.45.
Seventeen minutes after the market opening, the sidecar was issued in the Kosdaq to suspend program trading.
The resumed stock plunge came as fears resurfaced over the economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak across the world.
The Kospi and the Kosdaq jumped 7.4 percent and 9.2 percent respectively on Friday thanks to 60 billion U.S. dollars of the currency swap deal between the central banks of South Korea and the United States to exchange the South Korean currency with the U.S. dollar.
The won/dollar exchange rate soared 32.30 won to trade at 1,277.30 won per dollar as foreigners dumped the local currency to gain safer assets such as the greenback.
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