Korea's bourse operator on Wednesday activated a buy-side sidecar for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) as the stock index sharply rose, led by a chip rally. Program trading for the KOSPI-listed shares was suspended for five minutes at 11:57 a.m., according to the Korea Exchange (KRX). After opening 1.47 percent higher, the KOSPI rose 315.69 points, or 4.97 percent, to 6,661.22 as of 12:15 p.m. The stock rise came as semiconductor shares gained ground despite overnight losses on Wall Street. A buy-side sidecar is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures index rises 5 percent or more for at least one minute.