[Edaily Reporter Park Sun-Yeop ] As the KOSDAQ index plummeted more than 6% during the trading session, hitting its lowest point of the year, a “sell-side sidecar”—which temporarily suspends the effectiveness of program sell orders—was triggered. Major biotech and secondary battery stocks fell in tandem, exacerbating the index’s decline.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 14th, the program sell “side car” was triggered on the KOSDAQ market at 12:06:33 p.m. that day. As a result, the execution of program sell orders was suspended for five minutes.
At the time the sidecar was triggered, the KOSDAQ 150 futures price stood at 1,306.80, down 84.70 points (6.08%) from the previous day’s closing price. The KOSDAQ 150 spot index also fell 86.69 points (6.25%) to 1,298.20.

As of 12:18 p.m. today, the KOSDAQ index stood at 750.25, down 49.11 points (6.14%) from the previous trading day. This marks the year’s lowest intraday level.
The decline in the indices was led by large-cap stocks in the biotech and secondary battery sectors. Investor sentiment across the biotech sector weakened after Alteogen Inc.(196170)plummeted more than 15% on news that Samsung Bioepis had secured core technology related to subcutaneous injection formulations. LigaChem Biosciences(141080)also fell by more than 11%.
Secondary battery and robotics stocks also saw weakness. ECOPRO CO., LTD(086520)fell more than 9%, and ROBOTIS also dropped by over 10%. As selling pressure spread among the top-market-cap stocks on the KOSDAQ, the index’s decline rapidly widened.
On the other hand, some semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment stocks held up relatively well. Techwing, Inc.(089030), which reported strong earnings, rose by around 7%.
Kang Jin-hyuk, a senior analyst at Shinhan Investment Securities, explained, “Although some semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment stocks held up well, the KOSDAQ index fell to its lowest level of the year as large-cap stocks in the secondary battery and biotech sectors declined in tandem,” adding, “Alteogen Inc.’s sharp drop dampened investor sentiment across the entire biotech sector.”
The “sidecar” is a mechanism that temporarily suspends the execution of program trading orders when sharp fluctuations in futures prices threaten to cause significant disruption to the spot market. Unlike a circuit breaker, which halts all stock trading, it restricts only program trading orders.