New foreign direct investment (FDI) pledged to Korea jumped 19.3 percent in the first three months of the year due to a sharp rise in investment from the European Union and China, the government said Monday.

Fresh FDI committed to the country in the January-March period came to $4.24 billion, up from $3.55 billion a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The amount of new FDI arriving here, however, tumbled 43.1 percent on-year to $1.83 billion over the cited period due mainly to a one-off factor.

"Some $1.84 billion investment from Saudi Arabian Oil Company, or Aramco, arrived in the first quarter of last year. The amount led to the difference between the FDI commitments and arrivals," the ministry said in a press release.

New FDI pledges from the EU surged more than five-fold to $1.76 billion during the January-March period from a year earlier, while FDI commitments from China also skyrocketed seven-fold to $380 million.

In contrast, U.S. investment sank 56.2 percent on-year to $55 million and that of Japan slumped 44.4 percent to $160 million over the cited period.

Partly reflecting a recent recovery in the country's exports, new FDI pledges in the country's manufacturing sector soared 226.1 percent on-year to $1.3 billion, while fresh FDI pledges to the country's service sector dropped 0.6 percent to $2.95 billion.

Korea's exports fell 8.2 percent last month, extending its losing streak to 15 straight months. But the pace of decline decelerated from an 18.8 percent on-year drop in January and a 12.2 percent decline in February. (Yonhap)