South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance released statistics showing outward direct investment in 2025 totalled USD 71.9bn on a total-investment basis, up 8.7% from USD 66.1bn in 2024, marking a rebound after two years of decline following the 2022 peak. Financial and insurance investment rose to USD 37.9bn (+32.7%) and manufacturing increased to USD 17.1bn (+4.1%), with the two sectors together accounting for around 77% of the total and driving the overall rise. By region, North America received USD 27.8bn, Asia USD 16.1bn, Europe USD 15.0bn and Latin America USD 10.7bn, with Asia’s share of the total rising by 4.3 percentage points to 22.3%. The largest destination was the United States at USD 25.3bn, followed by the Cayman Islands (USD 8.4bn), Luxembourg (USD 6.3bn) and Singapore (USD 3.8bn), and investment into the United States increased for the first time since 2022 as financial and insurance investment rose while manufacturing remained at the prior-year level. The ministry linked the increase to shifts in international financial market conditions, including an easing rate environment and strong global equity markets, alongside expanded investment to respond to changes in global conditions, and said it will monitor outward investment trends and continue checking issues faced by Korean firms operating overseas while strengthening engagement with key destination countries and institutions.

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