A circuit breaker was put in place for South Korea’s main market on Friday when it plunged more than eight percent, after such a move was also introduced for the secondary KOSDAQ market earlier in the day.

The Korea Exchange said it implemented the circuit breaker for some 20 minutes after the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index(KOSPI) dropped eight-point-14 percent, lasting for roughly a minute. 

The break was put in place at 10:43 a.m. when the KOSPI slid by 149-point-40 points from the previous close to stand at one-thousand-684-point-93. 

The last time a circuit breaker was put in place in the KOSPI market was back on September 12, 2001, shortly after the 9/11 terror attacks.  

The latest move came after a circuit breaker was implemented in the KOSDAQ market after stock prices tumbled more than eight percent.  

The last time a circuit breaker was put in place for the KOSDAQ market was February 12 in 2016, when the market crumbled due to the global economic slowdown and concerns about North Korea risks. 

With the latest move, a circuit breaker has been put in place in South Korea’s stock markets a total of 12 times.