Stock trading in South Korea was temporarily suspended on Tuesday to cool down a buying spree following market crashes the previous day. 

According to market bourse operator the Korea Exchange, a “sidecar” was activated on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index(KOSPI) at 10:05 a.m. The temporary halt system is invoked when KOSPI 200 index futures remain more than five percent higher or lower from the closing of the previous session for at least one minute. 

As of 10:42 a.m., the KOSPI hit one-thousand-562-point-32 points, up by 79-point-86 points, or five-point-39 percent, from Monday's closing. 

It marks only the second time since December 1, 2011, that the sidecar was activated on the main market due to a sharp rise in future prices. The previous trigger was last Friday, when the KOSPI closed over seven percent higher.  

The KOSPI on Monday dipped five-point-34 percent following U.S. market plunges amid growing economic concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. A selling-caused sidecar was also activated earlier in the day. 

On Tuesday, the tech-heavy KOSDAQ also witnessed a temporary halt in program trading from 10:02 a.m. after futures rose over six percent.