Cumulative foreign direct investment in the third quarter reached $14.9 billion... greatest ever

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Shin Chang-yong = As of the third quarter of this year, the actual foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow into Korea reached close to $15 billion, reaching an all-time high.

The government believes that investment in high-tech industries such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers is continuing based on trust in Korea's economic fundamentals, and plans to further strengthen the momentum to attract investment.

According to the 'FDI Trends in the Third Quarter of 2026' announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 7th, FDI arrivals in the first to third quarters of this year reached $14.87 billion, a 30.6% increase from the same period last year, achieving the highest performance ever.

As of the third quarter, the cumulative reported investment amount also increased by 10.8% to $22.9 billion, the third highest ever.

In particular, the increase in the amount of arrivals, which refers to the actual inflow of funds, was noticeable.

Manufacturing investment arrived at $6.25 billion, a 110.6% increase compared to the same period last year. The increase in chemical engineering (256.6%↑) and non-metallic mineral products (242.5%↑) was maintained, and performance in the pharmaceutical sector (129.0%↑) also improved significantly due to the influx of bio- and pharmaceutical-related investments.

The amount of investment in the service industry increased by 5.6% to $8.37 billion.

By investment type, the increase in M&A-type investments for corporate share acquisitions and mergers led to an increase in the total amount received.

M&A-type arrivals surged 126.0% to $6.98 billion. On the other hand, greenfield investment to build or expand new factories or business sites decreased by 4.9% to $7.89 billion.

Looking at the reported amount by country, the investment reported performance in the United States recorded $6.69 billion, a 35.1% increase compared to the previous year, thanks to the influx of promising investments such as semiconductor processing and AI data centers.

On the other hand, the reporting performance of the European Union (EU, $2.41 billion, 3.9%↓), Japan ($1.88 billion, 47.9%↓), and China ($1.74 billion, 39.7%↓) decreased compared to the previous year.

In terms of arrival amount, the performance of the EU (93.7%↑) and Japan (63.0%↑) increased significantly.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, "Domestic investment opportunities are continuing to expand through the promotion of three major megaprojects such as semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers, and the fostering of growth engines in each of the five poles and three special regions. We plan to strengthen our support for attracting investment and resolving on-site difficulties through domestic and overseas corporate information session (IR) activities, including the Invest Korea Summit (IKS), the largest investment event in Korea, and foreign investment attraction caravans."