South Korean stocks plunge 6% as AI investment fears grip KOSPI

South Korean stocks plunged on Friday, with the KOSPI closing at 5059.69, down 6.02%, after briefly falling below the 5000-point level for the first time in nine months, triggering circuit breakers. The selloff was driven by fears over AI investment following the Democratic Party's landslide victory in the US midterm elections. Foreign investors offloaded 2.76 trillion won, extending their selling streak to six sessions, with cumulative net selling nearing 220 trillion won this year. Samsung Electronics fell 6.35% and SK Hynix dropped 10.44%, both hitting multi-month lows. The decline mirrored Wall Street's sharp losses, where the Nasdaq fell 5.52% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 12.25%, the steepest drop since March 2020.