KOSPI’s record rally past 9,000 triggers highest six-month count of volatility interruptions

South Korea's bourse operator triggered 29,357 Volatility Interruption measures on the KOSPI market in the January-June 2026 period, the highest figure ever recorded for a six-month period, Yonhap reported. The previous record stood at 24,401 interruptions in the first half of 2020.

A Volatility Interruption temporarily shifts trading in an individual stock to a two-minute call auction when its price moves sharply within a short period.

The KOSPI's average intraday volatility reached 3.3 percent over the same six months, the second-highest first-half reading after 3.51 percent in the first half of 1998. The benchmark index first surpassed 5,000 points in January 2026, broke above 6,000 in February, crossed the 7,000-point and 8,000-point thresholds in May, and climbed above 9,000 on June 18. It closed at 8,088.34 on July 3.

The heightened activity occurred as the index rallied on gains in semiconductor stocks amid an artificial intelligence-driven memory chip cycle, which prompted both aggressive buying and subsequent profit-taking. Market volatility was further amplified by geopolitical risks from the conflict between the United States and Iran that began in late February, Yonhap reported.