South Korea’s KOSPI and KOSDAQ hit circuit breakers as AI data center worries mount

Cointime reports: South Korea’s KOSPI fell 5.28% to 5,383.8 and the KOSDAQ dropped 5.11% on November 5, with both indexes triggering market stabilization mechanisms the same day. Semiconductor and AI-infrastructure shares led the decline: SK Hynix fell 9.46% and Samsung Electronics 7.57%. Investors are concerned that Democratic gains in the US midterm elections could tighten regulation of data center approvals, grid access and power costs, delaying AI data center projects and weighing on demand for HBM and DRAM memory chips.