The amount of annual foreign direct investment in South Korea has surpassed 20 billion dollars for the first time.
 
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday that foreigners have invested 20-point-43 billion dollars directly in the country this year as of Tuesday, breaking the previous annual record of 19 billion dollars set last year.
 
By country, the United States made five-point-45 billion dollars’ worth of direct investment, up by 57 percent from the same period last year.
 
China’s direct investment also grew sharply to one-point-97 billion dollars, up 71 percent, while direct investment from Middle Eastern countries jumped as much as 526 percent to one-point-38 billion dollars.