[South Korean Exchange Activates Circuit Breaker for the Seventh Time This Year] According to a report by Jinse Finance, on Monday, July 13, the South Korean stock market plunged sharply due to renewed tensions in the Middle East. In response, the Korea Exchange activated the circuit breaker mechanism for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI). Trading of KOSPI index constituent stocks was halted for 20 minutes. At approximately 1:28 PM local time (12:28 PM Beijing time), the Korea Exchange triggered a market-wide circuit breaker as the KOSPI index dropped more than 8% compared to the previous trading day's closing price. Earlier, a new round of clashes between the U.S. and Iran over the situation in the Strait of Hormuz had heightened investor caution, leading to heavy selling pressure on the benchmark index. This marks the seventh time this year that the Korea Exchange has activated the circuit breaker mechanism. (Jin10)