South Korean shares fell sharply on Wednesday, with major tech stocks leading the decline amid growing concerns about an artificial intelligence(AI) bubble.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 117-point-32 points, or two-point-85 percent, to close at four-thousand-four-point-42.

The main bourse dipped as low as three-thousand-867-point-81 during the session, slipping below the four-thousand-200 mark just two days after surpassing the milestone.

The steep declines prompted the Korea Exchange to temporarily halt program sell orders at around 9:46 a.m. after KOSPI 200 futures plunged more than five percent and remained there for more than a minute.

A similar measure for the tech-heavy KOSDAQ was issued at 10:26 a.m.

It was the first time KOSPI's sidecar mechanism had been triggered since April 7. The KOSDAQ's last took effect on August 5 of last year.

A Samsung Securities report said Wednesday that AI-related tech stocks had fueled the recent market rally but that warnings from global investment bank CEOs about potential AI stock overvaluation triggered widespread profit-taking.

Most large-cap stocks retreated, with Samsung Electronics sinking four-point-one percent and SK hynix losing one-point-19 percent.

Carmaker Hyundai Motor dipped two-point-72 percent, and defense firm Hanwha Aerospace slid five-point-94 percent.

Shipbuilders Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai nosedived seven-point-47 percent and six-point-88 percent, respectively.

The KOSDAQ fell 24-point-68 points, or two-point-66 percent, to close at 901-point-89.

The South Korean won weakened against the U.S. dollar by eleven-point-five won, trading at one-thousand-449-point-four won as of 3:30 p.m.