A Korea-focused exchange-traded fund, the CSOP Korea KOSPI 200 ETF (03121), experienced a sharp decline, dropping over 10% in the afternoon session. At the time of writing, it was down 8.41%, trading at HK$6.1 with a turnover of HK$61.83 million.

This significant movement follows a turbulent day in the South Korean stock market, where the benchmark KOSPI index triggered its circuit breaker mechanism twice on July 13th. The index fell below the 7,000-point mark, hitting its lowest level since May 6th.

The sell-off was led by major semiconductor stocks. SK Hynix Inc shares plunged more than 13%, while Samsung Electronics Co Ltd fell over 9%.

The pressure on SK Hynix was partly due to a second-quarter earnings forecast from Korean brokerage Korea Investment & Securities (KIS). The report projected the chipmaker's operating profit to reach 60.4 trillion won, which is approximately 8% lower than the market consensus estimate of 65 trillion won.

In a separate development, the Bank of Korea addressed investor concerns in a report released on Monday. The central bank dismissed worries that the semiconductor cycle had already peaked. It stated that the global semiconductor market remains in a state of supply shortage and that the AI-driven super-cycle for chips is expected to persist for some time.