By Kwanwoo Jun


South Korea's Kospi briefly topped the 8000 mark for the first time on Friday before falling sharply as investors locked in gains after a recent rally.

The benchmark failed to hold above the milestone, suggesting investor caution after a blistering tech-driven rally recently. Although the index snapped a two-session winning streak, the Kospi is still up around 80% this year.

The Kospi slumped 6.1% to close at 7493.18, sharply reversing course after touching a record intraday high of 8046.78 earlier Friday.

The stock-market regulator briefly halted trading to reduce volatility after Kospi 200 futures fell more than 5%.

Among the top decliners were index heavyweight semiconductor companies Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, key drivers of the Kopsi's rally this year.

Shares in Samsung, the world's top memory-chip maker, plunged 8.6%, snapping a two-session winning streak. Nvidia supplier SK Hynix fell 7.7%, extending losses for a second consecutive session.

Labor unrest weighed on Samsung and prompted traders to book profit after recent gains.

Samsung's talks with its labor union earlier this week failed to reach an agreement over how to distribute its massive profits amid the artificial-intelligence boom. Unionized workers want the company to allocate 15% of its operating profit to employee bonuses or face a strike from May 21 to June 7.

The company on Friday renewed its call for union leaders to resume talks to avert the industrial action.

"Unlike many other industries, the semiconductor industry is highly capital-intensive and requires processes to run 24 hours a day without interruption, so strikes must never occur," Samsung said in a statement. A group of Samsung executives visited union leaders at a chip plant in Pyeongtaek, southwest of Seoul, on Friday to call for negotiations to resume as soon as possible.

NH Investment & Securities analyst Na Jeong-hwan said Friday that Samsung's labor dispute is likely to become a major downside risk for the Kospi next week.

"Higher labor costs from a potential agreement and production disruptions from a strike could both weigh on Samsung Electronics' earnings," Na said.


Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-15-26 0325ET