Hong Seok-cheon Instagram capture.

As global financial markets wobble amid military clashes sparked in the Middle East, TV personality Hong Seok-cheon shared his feelings about the plunge in stocks.

On the 4th, Hong posted a photo of the moon on his Instagram along with the caption, “Last night I made a wish to the moon. I guess I should have wished for stocks not to fall. A total wipeout this morning.” He added, “I wished for health, but it feels like I might have a heart attack,” revealing his bewilderment at the tanking market.

Online commenters who saw this expressed empathy, saying things like “Bro, me too” and “I deleted the app after seeing the circuit breaker get triggered.”

Source=Yonhap News Agency.

This market plunge is seen as a spillover effect of military clashes spreading in the Middle East. Tensions rose after the United States and Israel carried out airstrikes on Iran on February 28, and on March 1 (local time) Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was reported to have died.

Iran immediately launched retaliatory attacks, and the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared on the 3rd that it would blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil shipments. On the 4th (local time), according to foreign outlets including Russia’s RIA Novosti as cited by Yonhap News Agency, the Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it carried out missile strikes on ships that ignored its navigation-ban warning.

As the Middle East’s geopolitical crisis spread into financial markets, South Korea’s stock market also plunged. According to the Korea Exchange, on the morning of the 4th the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices fell more than 8% from the previous trading day, triggering a level-1 circuit breaker on both markets. A circuit breaker is a market safeguard that halts trading for a set period to prevent panic selling when an index plunges.

YouTube channel ‘Calm Man’ live broadcast.

Reactions to the market plunge also appeared among other media personalities. The YouTuber ‘Calm Man (real name Lee Byung-geon)’, known as the webtoon artist Lee Mal-nyeon, hosted a live broadcast on the 3rd titled ‘I Dream of a World Without War’.

He had previously said on his YouTube channel, “I sold Samsung Electronics in the 70,000-won range and bought again at 210,000 won.” However, as South Korea’s market plunged due to the Middle East war, Samsung Electronics closed at 172,200 won on the 4th.