New pledges for foreign direct investment in South Korea dropped in 2013 from a year earlier, affected by a significant pullback by Japan, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Tuesday.
New FDI pledges plunged 10.7 percent on-year to $14.55 billion last year, according to the ministry. The figure still marked a 9.9 percent gain from a five-year average of $13.24 billion.
The ministry attributed the drop to a cut in FDI pledges from Japan, down 40.8 percent on-year to $2.69 billion.
"Investment in South Korea by Japanese firms fell as their global investment shrank due to the weakening of the Japanese yen," the ministry said in a press release.
The Japanese currency depreciated more than 19 percent from 1,256.29 won to 100 yen in December 2012 to 1,010.30 won to 100 yen last month.
Fresh FDI pledges from the United States also slipped 4.1 percent on-year to $3.53 billion while those from European countries jumped 76.9 percent to $4.8 billion, apparently reflecting recent improvements in economic conditions and investor sentiment there.
By industrial sector, new investment pledges in the country's service industry gained 2.6 percent on-year to $9.85 billion, with those in the manufacturing sector plunging 23.8 percent to $4.65 billion.
The amount of FDI that arrived here in 2013 also dropped 9.4 percent on-year to $9.68 billion.
The figure marks a 27.9 percent spike from a five-year average of $7.57 billion, the ministry said. (Yonhap News)
