A system error at the Korea Exchange(KRX) caused stock trading to be halted for about seven minutes on Tuesday.

According to the KRX, a computer malfunction occurred in the Korea Composite Stock Price Index(KOSPI) market from 11:30 a.m. to 11:44 a.m., resulting in delays in stock trade transactions.

As a result, the trading systems of all securities firms were unable to process price checks and order transactions.

Trading on the alternative exchange, Nextrade, proceeded normally.

However, trading of Dongyang Steel Pipe on the KOSPI market remained suspended as of 12:05 p.m. for “market management reasons.”

There is speculation within the securities industry that the issue with Dongyang Steel Pipe’s trading led to the overall system malfunction, but the KRX said the exact cause is still under investigation.

An exchange official said that while trade transactions were halted, order submissions were received in sequence, adding that there were no financial losses for investors.