According to Yonhap News,

(SEJONG=Yonhap News) New foreign direct investment (FDI) pledged to South Korea tumbled in the first six months of the year due mainly to a high-base effect, yet the amount was the second-highest for the first half, the government said Wednesday.

Fresh FDI committed to the country came to US$8.87 billion in the January-June period, down 14.2 percent from $10.33 billion pledged over the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Still, it marked the second-highest amount ever for the first half, the ministry said.

"The on-year drop can be attributed to a record amount of deals signed in the first quarter of last year, including a single $1.9 billion deal, that helped bring the overall amount of FDI to a record half-year high in 2014," a ministry official said.

New FDI pledged to South Korea in the first quarter tumbled 29.8 percent on-year.

However, in the three-month period ending on June 30, fresh FDI pledged to the country gained 0.8 percent to nearly $5.32 billion, the ministry said.

The drop in new FDI pledges was also attributed to significant cuts in new investment from both advanced and developing nations.

In the first half, new FDI pledges from the United States dropped 16.3 percent on-year to $2.1 billion while those from China were nearly halved to $393 million from $776 million in the first half of 2014.

Fresh investment pledges from EU countries also tumbled 59.8 percent while investment pledges from Japan dropped 15.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the ministry said the amount of FDI that arrived here in the first half also dropped 19.8 percent on-year to $6.06 billion.

By industrial sector, new foreign investment made in the country's manufacturing sector plunged 28.2 percent on-year to about $2.43 billion in the first half, while new FDI for the service industry amounted to $3.44 billion, down 17.1 percent from the same period last year.

bdk@yna.co.kr

Copyrights Yonhap News. All Rights Reserved.