SEOUL, July 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's bourse operator on Thursday activated a sell-side sidecar for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) after the index fell sharply, led by losses in technology stocks.

Program trading in KOSPI-listed shares was suspended for five minutes at 9:10 a.m., according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).

After opening 4.45 percent lower, the KOSPI fell nearly 5 percent.

The decline came as escalating tensions in the Middle East following the United States' fresh strikes on Iran on Wednesday (U.S. time) weighed on investor sentiment.

A sell-side sidecar is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures Index falls 5 percent or more for at least one minute.

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