SEOUL — Foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Korea logged a double-digit fall in the first half (H1) of this year after hitting a record high a year earlier, government data showed on Friday.
The reported FDI stood at $15.34 billion in the January-June period, down 10.3 percent compared to the record high of $17.09 billion recorded in the first half of last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The FDI in the domestic manufacturing industry advanced 6.5 percent to $8.13 billion in the six-month period.
Foreign investment in the electric and electronic sector jumped 25.7 percent to $3.64 billion, while investment in the machinery equipment and medical precision instrument segment more than doubled to $1.11 billion.
The FDI in the local service industry tumbled 24.3 percent to $6.41 billion for the first six months of this year from a year earlier.
Investment in the finance and insurance sector shrank 22.4 percent to $3.06 billion, with those in the wholesale and retail, and the real estate segments dropping in double digits.
Direct investment from the United States and the European Union dived in double figures to $2.61 billion and $1.96 billion each, but investment from Japan almost quintupled to $2.89 billion.
Greenfield investment, which involves factory construction and employment, shed 9.1 percent to $11.49 billion in the first half, while the merger and acquisition investment retreated 13.7 percent to $3.84 billion.
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