South Korea's KOSPI fell sharply early on March 23, triggering a sidecar that temporarily suspends the effectiveness of program sell quotes at the open. The KOSDAQ was also down more than 3 percent and remained weak.

As of 9:16 a.m., the KOSPI was down 272.20 points, or 4.71 percent, from the previous session at 5,509.00. The index opened at 5,580.15 and slid as far as 5,501.42 during the session.

By investor category, retail investors were net buyers of 1.1156 trillion won. Foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 694.2 billion won and 449.1 billion won, respectively.

Most of the top market-cap stocks were posting steep losses.

Samsung Electronics was down 4.81 percent at 189,800 won, while SK Hynix was down 5.76 percent at 949,000 won. Hyundai Motor, LG Energy Solution, SK Square, Samsung Biologics, Doosan Enerbility, Hanwha Aerospace and Kia were also falling across the board.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ was down 40.41 points, or 3.48 percent, from the previous session at 1,121.11.

In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won was at 1,503.00 per dollar, up 3.50 won, or 0.23 percent, from the previous session.