Seoul, July 5 (AHN) South Korea's bourse operator triggered a record number of Volatility Interruption (VI) measures on the benchmark KOSPI market in the first half of this year as the market swung sharply amid a strong rally, data showed on Sunday.

A total of 29,357 VIs were triggered on the KOSPI in the January-June period, the highest figure ever recorded for a six-month period, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX), reports Yonhap news agency.

The previous record was 24,401 in the first half of 2020, when the market was rattled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A VI is a market mechanism designed to curb excessive price swings in individual stocks. When a stock's price moves sharply within a short period, trading is temporarily shifted to a two-minute call auction.

The KOSPI also posted its second-highest first-half volatility on record.

The benchmark index's average intraday volatility stood at 3.3 percent in the first six months of this year, the second-highest first-half figure after 3.51 percent in the first half of 1998.

Intraday volatility is calculated by dividing the difference between the day's high and low by the average of the day's high and low, measuring how widely the index fluctuates during a trading session.

The heightened volatility came as the KOSPI rallied on gains in semiconductor stocks amid the artificial intelligence-driven memory chip supercycle, triggering both aggressive buying and profit-taking after the market's sharp gains.

Market volatility was further amplified by geopolitical risks stemming from the conflict between the United States and Iran, which began in late February.

The KOSPI first surpassed the 5,000-point mark in January, broke above 6,000 in February, and crossed the 7,000-point and 8,000-point thresholds in May. It climbed above 9,000 on June 18 but has since backtracked to close at 8,088.34 on Friday.