The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Jan. 6 announced that foreign direct investment last year remained over USD 20 billion for the fifth consecutive year. This photo shows a business conference on Nov. 6, 2019, at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas as part of the event Invest Korea Week 2019. (Yonhap News)
By Xu Aiying and Kim Minji
Foreign direct investment (FDI) last year remained above USD 20 billion for the fifth consecutive year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on Jan. 6.
In a report on 2019 FDI trends, the ministry said FDI commitments to Korea reached USD 23.3 billion last year.
By region, the European Union led in FDI with USD 7.13 billion, followed by the U.S. with USD 6.84 billion, Japan USD 1.43 billion and China USD 980 million.
Such investment was focused on sectors like research and development (R&D) centers for global semiconductor equipment companies, information and communications technology (ICT) services, and high-quality consumer goods.
"Because foreign companies have invested over USD 20 billion a year for five consecutive years since 2015, we have now entered the stage of setting USD 20 billion as the base for FDI attraction," the ministry said.
The ministry will also keep supporting foreign investment that contributes to the development of domestic industries including parts, materials and equipment, global R&D centers and next-generation industries such as future cars, the hydrogen economy, the bio industry and ICT.