Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges made to South Korea surged 42.3 percent in 2021 from a year earlier to reach an all-time high, data showed Monday.

Foreigners pledged to invest $29.51 billion in South Korea in 2021, compared with $20.7 billion a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The 2021 figure hit an all-time high, beating the previous record of $26.9 billion logged in 2018, it added.

The amount of investment that actually arrived in South Korea last year jumped 57.5 percent on-year to $18.03 billion.

By segment, the service sector saw its FDI pledges rise 64.2 percent on-year to reach $23.57 billion, particularly in information and communication, leasing service and retail sectors, according to the data.

But FDI pledges made to the manufacturing sector decreased 16.2 percent to $5 billion, the data showed.

By country, investment from the European Union nearly tripled to come to $12.8 billion last year, and the amount from Chinese-speaking nations advanced 38.1 percent to $7.54 billion.

FDI pledges from the United States inched down 0.9 percent to $5.26 billion, while investment from Japan went up 52.8 percent to 1.21 billion last year, according to the data. (Yonhap)