KOSPI Falls More Than 7% as Chip Stocks Slide, South Korean Papers Report

The papers reported slightly different figures for the fall. The Chosun Ilbo put the drop at 7.5 percent and said the chip industry faces uncertainty; the Korea JoongAng Daily attributed the decline to doubts about artificial intelligence and fears over interest rates; the Korea Herald said the index slid more than 7 percent after chip stocks sank. The Segye Times reported that both the KOSPI and the KOSDAQ plunged.

The Donga Ilbo reported that the KOSPI plunged "3,560 points in 4 months" and had failed to regain its footing, a formulation that differed from the percentage declines given by the other papers. The Kookmin Daily described the market as hit by external headwinds.

Coverage also focused on ordinary investors. The JoongAng Ilbo's headline read "No more cash for bargain hunting," and the Korea Economic Daily reported that account holders were afraid to check their stock accounts after the crash.

Other headlines were not confined to the markets. The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that the Cheonghae unit is expanding its operations into the Gulf of Oman, and the Seoul Shinmun said a tax agency chief with "results" had been picked as the new presidential chief of staff.

Two papers led with the same security issue from different angles. The Hankyoreh said the United States has raised the bar for the transfer of wartime operational control, adding that conditions have changed. The Hankook Ilbo said Washington had shaken up the OPCON transfer conditions and left South Korea uneasy.

The Maeil Business Newspaper reported that South Korea has asked for a tax reduction for the Alaska LNG project, and the Korea Times ran the headline "Why not Gangnam?"