"Get on → Get off!"... KOSPI plunges 12%, and the 'chaebol boss meme' flips overnight

[The Financial News] As the fallout from the U.S.-Iran war drags global stock markets lower across the board, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) has posted the steepest decline among major markets worldwide. A popular "chaebol boss meme" that spread during the market rally has now been flipped on its head and is circulating online, reflecting the bitter mood among investors.
Until just a month ago, the KOSPI was leading global stock markets in terms of gains. From the start of the year through the end of February, it had surged 48.17%.
However, after airstrikes by the United States of America (U.S.) and Israel on the Islamic Republic of Iran, the South Korean stock market took a direct hit.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 4th, the KOSPI closed at 5,093.54, down 698.37 points (12.06%) from the previous session. The drop exceeded the decline seen during the September 11 attacks (9/11) in 2001, when the index fell 12.02%.
The KOSDAQ Index also tumbled, ending at 978.44, down 159.26 points (14%) from the previous day. In terms of single-day percentage loss, this is the largest decline ever recorded for the KOSDAQ Index.
As intraday losses deepened, a sidecar was triggered in the morning to temporarily halt program sell orders, followed by activation of a circuit breaker mechanism that suspended all trading for 20 minutes.
Amid this sharp sell-off, a modified version of the "chaebol boss meme" has been spreading rapidly online.
The original meme showed Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong casually reaching his hand out from a blue sports car and saying, "No time to explain, just get in." The latest version, however, depicts him urgently shouting, "No time to explain, get out now," just as he is about to escape from a sports car or a helicopter that has been hit by a strike.
In another meme, Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won are shown riding together in a sports car, saying, "We’ll be back, just wait a little," only for the next scene to cut to the two of them in tears, yelling, "Get out."
Investors reacting to the memes commented, "Chairman, where are you going without me?", "He tells us to get off as soon as we get on," and "I hope today is the bottom, please."


[email protected] Seong Min-seo Reporter