Foreign direct investment(FDI) pledges made to South Korea surged 42-point-three percent on-year in 2021 to reach a record high of 29-point-five billion dollars, according to the trade ministry on Monday.

A ministry official said that, despite the pandemic and global supply chain issues, a record FDI was logged last year to contribute to the economic recovery and supply chain expansion.

By industry, the service sector saw FDI pledges rise 64 percent to over 23 billion dollars, with noticeable hikes in information and communication and wholesale and retail.

However, investment pledges in manufacturing fell 16 percent to five billion dollars last year. 

By country, investment from the European Union surged 170 percent to 12-point-eight billion while that from Chinese-speaking countries rose 38 percent to seven and a half billion dollars. Investment from Japan jumped 53 percent to one-point-two billion.

Pledges from the U.S. edged down zero-point-nine percent to five-point-26 billion dollars.

The previous record was just under 27 billion dollars set in 2018. The amount of investment that actually arrived in the country last year jumped 57-point-five percent to over 18 billion dollars.