Seoul City Surpasses 10 Billion USD in Foreign Direct Investment for the First Time

Both New and Additional Investments Rise
Manufacturing Industry Significantly Up Compared to Previous Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Seoul City announced on the 6th that foreign direct investment (FDI) exceeded 10.1 billion dollars last year.

It is the first time to surpass 100 billion dollars with a continuous upward trend since 2017, accounting for nearly 44% of Korea's total foreign direct investment. Both new and additional investments grew evenly.

Seoul City has made efforts to attract foreign investment this year by visiting local sites such as Silicon Valley in the United States and London in both countries to hold investment briefings, and by providing incentives for strategic foreign investment attraction in cooperation with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

This year's new investment amounted to 3.7 billion dollars, a 16% increase compared to the previous year. Among new investments, investment in new industry sectors was the highest at 2.3 billion dollars. Additional investment also increased by 11% compared to the previous year, reaching 6 billion dollars. In particular, foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, including 'K-Beauty,' which is gaining popularity in the global cosmetics market, surged by 276% compared to the previous year.

The city plans to continue active activities to attract foreign investment this year as well. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said, "Despite the difficult economic conditions with significant geopolitical risks last year, it is very encouraging that we were able to attract foreign direct investment to an all-time high," adding, "We will attract more foreign direct investment so that it can promote the innovative growth of Seoul's economy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.