Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Korea on a notification basis reached USD 14.3 billion in the first half of 2026, up 9.1 percent year-on-year. Actual inflows also increased 42.6 percent year-on-year to $10.7 billion.

Despite continued downward pressure on global FDI, including from recent Middle East tensions, Korea recorded year-on-year gains in both investment notifications and actual inflows. The increase shows that notified projects are moving into implementation and that new investment continues to enter promising sectors such as semiconductors and displays, reflecting investor confidence in Korea’s advanced industry supply chains and innovation ecosystem.

Investment Notification

By type, greenfield investment notifications for new or expanded factories and business sites totaled $10.8 billion, down 1.5 percent year-on-year. The decline eased significantly from the first quarter of 2026, when greenfield investment notifications fell 19.8 percent to $3.7 billion amid an uncertain trade environment. M&A investment notifications, including corporate equity acquisitions and mergers, rose sharply by 64.3 percent to $3.5 billion.

By industry, manufacturing investment notifications fell 28.4 percent year-on-year to $3.8 billion, led by decreases in chemicals, down 17.0 percent to $1.1 billion, and electrical and electronics, down 26.5 percent to $1.0 billion. In contrast, investment in machinery, equipment, and medical precision instruments rose 243.1 percent to $0.9 billion, driven by inflows into promising industries such as autonomous driving robots and healthcare. Investment in non-metallic mineral products, including displays, also increased 34.2 percent to $0.3 billion.

Services investment notifications rose 27.9 percent year-on-year to $9.1 billion. Investment increased significantly in finance and insurance, up 47.9 percent to $3.7 billion, and real estate, up 98.8 percent to $1.6 billion. R&D and professional, scientific, and technical services also improved, rising 24.3 percent to $0.5 billion.

By source country, investment notifications from major investors declined year-on-year, with investment from the United States down 2.5 percent to $3.1 billion, the European Union down 8.1 percent to $2.1 billion, Japan down 30.9 percent to $1.5 billion, and China down 18.6 percent to $1.5 billion. In contrast, investment notifications from other countries, including Singapore and the United Kingdom, rose 65.4 percent to $6.2 billion.

Actual Inflows

By type, greenfield investment inflows edged down 5.6 percent year-on-year to $4.5 billion, while M&A investment inflows rose 123.3 percent to $6.3 billion.

By industry, actual inflows into manufacturing surged 205.2 percent year-on-year to $5.0 billion. Chemicals rose 916.3 percent to $4.1 billion, as capital for large-scale chemical projects continued to arrive steadily. Investment in non-metallic mineral products, including displays, also increased 223.2 percent to $0.3 billion.

Actual inflows into services edged up 1.4 percent year-on-year to $5.6 billion. Finance and insurance rose 9.3 percent to $3.4 billion, and real estate increased 98.7 percent to $0.6 billion. In contrast, distribution fell 33.1 percent to $0.6 billion, while information and communications declined 48.4 percent to $0.4 billion.

By source country, actual inflows from the United States fell 13.3 percent year-on-year to $1.3 billion. In contrast, the European Union posted a 106.1 percent increase to $4.3 billion, Japan a 56.5 percent increase to $0.6 billion, and China a 36.0 percent increase to $0.2 billion. Actual inflows from other countries also rose 26.4 percent to $4.3 billion.

To sustain momentum from Korea’s record-high FDI in 2025, MOTIR will strengthen foreign investment incentives aligned with national industrial policies, including the Five Mega-Regions and Three Special Self-Governing Provinces initiative, and expand strategic IR activities in Korea and abroad. MOTIR will also hear directly from foreign-invested companies through on-site investment promotion caravans and roundtables, while working with relevant ministries and agencies to support a stable investment environment.