South Korean stocks started sharply lower on Thursday following an overnight crash in the U.S. stock market.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index(KOSPI) plunged 50-point-91 points, or two-point-43 percent, to two-thousand-46-point-67 when trading began.

The tech-heavy KOSDAQ slipped two-point-98 percent, or 20-point-81 points, to 678-point-49. 

The South Korean currency was trading at one-thousand-139 won against the U.S. dollar, down six-point-seven won from the previous session's close.

Overnight, tech stocks crashed in New York, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumping two-point-41 percent and the Nasdaq Composite tumbling four-point-43 percent.