Pledges for foreign direct investment in South Korea hit new high in 2022

Direct investment from abroad in South Korea, known as “foreign direct investment” or “FDI” for short, reached a new high last year in 2022. As per data released by “Korea Bizwire” in early January 2023, the investment amount exceeded 30 billion US dollars for the first time. Foreign institutions and companies pledged investments of 30.35 billion US dollars, up 3.2 per cent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The previous record of 29.51 billion US dollars was set in 2021. In particular, investments were noted in the textile and apparel, chemicals, metals and electronics industries. Products from these areas usually need KC certification to be approved for import and distribution in Korea.

Contrary to the pledges, however, in 2022 actual foreign direct investment in South Korea fell 3.1 per cent year-on-year to US$18.03 billion. According to the data, the number of investment pledges increased by 12.1 per cent to 3,463 and actual investments executed rose by 12.4 per cent to 2,325. Broken down by industry, the manufacturing sector more than doubled the number of investment pledges to 12.48 billion US dollars, a new all-time high.

Looking at the countries of origin of foreign direct investment, the USA leads the way with 28.5 per cent. Here, an increase of 62.5 per cent to 8.69 billion US dollars was also recorded compared to the previous year. Investments from the EU decreased by 36.9 per cent to 8.07 billion US dollars, and investments from China and its territories were 31.6 per cent lower, bringing the total to 5.16 billion US dollars last year. Investments for the new establishment of companies increased by 23.4 per cent compared to the previous year to a new record value of 22.32 billion US dollars. In contrast, investments for company acquisitions and mergers fell by 28.8 per cent to 8.14 billion US dollars. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said that the increase in FDI is expected to have a positive impact on employment and business investment in other related sectors. In addition, the government will continue its measures to deregulate and provide subsidies to foreign investors, the spokesperson said.

KCs certification was introduced in South Korea to ensure basic safety in the design and manufacture of hazardous machinery and protective equipment in hazardous workplaces in Korea. The aim is to protect the health and safety of workers by preventing accidents. We offer certification services for all product areas, including KC certification for consumer products and especially electronics, KC-EMC certification for electronic products and KCs certification for machinery, as well as KCs for explosion-proof products. We are at your disposal for all questions regarding Korea certifications.

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Julian Busch

About the author: Julian Busch is the founder and managing director of MPR International GmbH

Publisher: MPR International GmbH

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