Inbound foreign direct investment (FDI) pledged to Korea was US $29.5 billion in 2021, up 42.3 percent year-on-year. The figure hit a record high, breaking the previous record of US $26.9 billion set in 2018.
By region, investment pledged from the EU (including the UK) surged 169.0 percent year-on-year to US $12.8 billion and Japanese investment rose 52.8 percent to US $1.2 billion. Investment pledged from the US fell 0.9 percent to US $5.3 billion. Chinese investment pledged to Korea went down 5.2 percent to US $1.9 billion.
By industry, inbound FDI in manufacturing came to US $5.0 billion, down 16.2 percent year-on-year, and investment in services rose 64.2 percent to US $23.6 billion.