South Korea attracted a record amount of foreign direct investment(FDI) last year.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on Tuesday that new FDI pledges to South Korea came to 21-point-three billion U.S. dollars last year, up one-point-nine percent on-year from the previous record of 20-point-nine billion dollars set in 2015.

The ministry said that the amount of new FDI surpassed the 20-billion-dollar mark two years in a row.

The rise is attributed to an increase of FDI for the country’s service industry as well as “greenfield investment," which refers to a type of FDI in which foreigners buy land and set up businesses.

FDI for greenfield investments increased six-and-a-half percent on-year last year, while that for the service industry expanded five-point-three percent to 15-point-five billion dollars, posting growth for the sixth consecutive year.