South Korea's KOSPI share index dropped 8 percent on Wednesday, prompting the bourse operator to halt trading for 20 minutes after the index reached 5,547.77 at midday. Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix declined 8 percent and 12.6 percent respectively, while regional indices including the Nikkei 225, Taiex, and Shanghai Composite also fell. This marked the eighth circuit-breaker activation on the KOSPI this year.