[South Korean and Japanese Stock Markets Decline Due to Sharp Sell-Off in Tech Stocks] According to Jintou News, under the influence of a sharp shift in global artificial intelligence market sentiment and macroeconomic events, South Korean and Japanese stock markets experienced significant sell-offs after recently hitting multiple all-time highs. In South Korea, the two memory chip manufacturers that make up about half of the KOSPI index's market capitalization, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, saw intraday declines of 7.4% and 10.1%, respectively. The KOSPI index fell more than 9% intraday, triggering a 20-minute trading halt, marking the fourth such occurrence this year. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index dropped more than 3.0% intraday, led primarily by SoftBank Group and chip manufacturer Kioxia, which fell 10% and 14%, respectively. Both the South Korean KOSPI index and the Nikkei 225 index had recently reached multiple record highs, driven mainly by optimism surrounding artificial intelligence, progress in U.S.-Iran peace talks, and expectations of monetary tightening by the Bank of Japan.