South Korea's stock market briefly suspended trading on Tuesday as the benchmark KOSPI index dropped more than six per cent, dealers said.
HT ImageTrading resumed at 1.30 pm (0430 GMT) following a five-minute break. As of 1.36 pm the index was down 6.23 percent or 104.87 points at 1,578.69.
Fears of a US recession mauled Seoul and other global financial markets.
The KOSPI's plunge followed a three percent drop on Monday. The index is now more than 23 percent below its November peak.