[Digital Today reporter Oh Sang-youp (오상엽)] A selling sidecar was triggered on the main board market as the KOSPI's sharp fall continued.

The Korea Exchange said it activated a selling sidecar on the main board market at 9:47:58 a.m. on Oct. 13. It was the first time in 35 trading sessions since Aug. 19.

At the time of the trigger, the price of futures based on the KOSPI200 stood at 955.02, down 51.20 points, or 5.08 percent, from the reference price of 1,006.22.

A selling sidecar on the main board market is triggered when the KOSPI200 futures price stays down at least 5 percent from the reference price for more than 1 minute. As a result, the effectiveness of program sell orders on the main board market was suspended for 5 minutes from the time of activation.

South Korean stocks fell sharply from the opening bell, led by large-cap semiconductor shares. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell about 5 percent in early trade. Selling pressure then spread across the broader market, increasing volatility.

The KOSPI is facing additional downward pressure as the recent string of sharp declines has dampened investor sentiment. Concerns have also grown about an increase in semiconductor supply following Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT's plan to launch next-generation DDR5.