South Korea's benchmark KOSPI dipped by a record margin of eight percent at Monday's closing, amid increasing concerns over an economic stagnation in the United States.

The main bourse lost 234-point-64 points, or eight-point-77 percent from the previous trading day, closing at two-thousand-441-point-55.

The index, which opened trading down two-point-42 percent from Friday at two-thousand-611-point-three, soon fell below the two-thousand-600 mark, then the two-thousand-500 mark.

As shares plunged more than eight percent at around 2:14 p.m., authorities activated a circuit breaker of halting trading, which lasted 20 minutes.

Once trading resumed, the index temporarily dropped further below two-thousand-400, hitting the lowest of two-thousand-386-point-96, or down ten-point-81 percent.

The second-largest tech-heavy KOSDAQ, which closed at 691-point-28, down 88-point-05 points, or eleven-point-three percent, also had trading suspended for 20 minutes at around 1:56 p.m.

It was the first time circuit breakers were activated since March 19, 2020.