Amid the fallout from U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged from the 6,000 range to the 5,000 level, and the "chaebol boss meme" that trended in a bull market has flipped 180 degrees and is spreading online.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 4th, the KOSPI closed at 5,090.79, down 698.37 points (12.11%) from the previous session. In points, it set the largest single-day decline for the second straight day. The drop also exceeded the 12.02% recorded during the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. In the morning, a sidecar that temporarily suspends program sell orders was triggered, followed by a circuit breaker that halted trading for 20 minutes.
The KOSDAQ also ended at 978.44, down 159.26 points (14%) from the previous session. The KOSDAQ's one-day drop was also the largest on record.
As the stock market slumped, images generated by artificial intelligence (AI) featuring Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won were shared in online communities and stock chat rooms. Set against a battlefield-like backdrop, the scene showed Lee and Chey driving off in a luxury sports car, shouting, "We'll be back, just wait a little."
Another meme showed Lee in a helicopter saying, "No time to explain, get off now!" This is the exact opposite of the meme from when the KOSPI was surging, in which Lee and Chey appeared together in a luxury sports car, extending their hands and shouting, "No time to explain, get in."
Individual investors who saw the images reacted by saying, "We agreed to stick together to the end," "Chairman, where are you going without me?" and "As soon as I get on, I'm told to get off."
With uncertainty in the Middle East high, whether the "Strait of Hormuz" blockade claimed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps actually occurs is seen as key to the market's direction.
Kim Seong-geun, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "For uncertainty to ease, we need to see signs that Iran's military capability to strike key infrastructure facilities is significantly reduced," adding that this is "a condition to lower oil price volatility that stokes inflation concerns."