Korea draws $1.2 bil. globally with Invest Korea Summit amid APEC meetings

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources Vice Minister Moon Shin-hak speaks during an opening ceremony of this year's Invest Korea Summit in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of KOTRA

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, together with the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), launched the Invest Korea Summit 2025 on Thursday in Seoul, marking the largest investment achievement in the event’s history.

The two-day event, held in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit this year, drew a record-high investment amount of $1.21 billion in total from global companies in various sectors, from artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors and automotive, to energy, chemicals, and food and beverage.

“Korea is an attractive destination for global companies looking to invest, and foreign investment plays a vital role in boosting the country’s industrial competitiveness,” Industry Vice Minister Moon Shin-hak said during the summit’s opening ceremony.

“In today’s climate of heightened economic uncertainty, Korea remains committed to strengthening its standing as a global business hub by continuously enhancing the competitiveness of advanced industries, diversifying export markets and upgrading support systems for foreign investors.”

As Korea’s biggest annual foreign investment fair, it features national-level investment briefings for foreign investors, showcases of the country’s industrial competitiveness, themed conferences and investor relations sessions. This year’s event brought together about 2,000 participants, including foreign, leading local and global companies, foreign chambers of commerce and embassies in Korea, as well as local government officials.

Prior to the opening day, seven global companies, including Amazon Web Services and Renault, announced their direct and indirect investment plans totaling $9 billion over the next five years during a meeting with President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

As part of their plan, the companies finalized foreign direct investment agreements totaling $660 million.

Also on Thursday, another seven global companies, including Tokyo Electron, Valeo and Ocean Winds, committed a combined $550 million in investments.

The total investments marked the largest-ever achievement in the summit’s history.

“This year’s Invest Korea Summit serves not only as a government-led IR (investor relations) platform but also as an ideal opportunity to advance Korea’s goal of becoming a top-three global AI powerhouse and promote regional growth and international investment cooperation,” KOTRA CEO Kang Kyung-sung said.

“We will work with global firms to boost industrial competitiveness and attract strategic investment projects to secure leadership in advanced supply chains.”

Under the theme of AI innovation, leading experts from advanced industries around the world gathered to discuss strategies for global investment cooperation in the AI era and Korea’s role in this landscape for the summit’s main conference.

Naver Cloud and FuriosaAI each unveiled their visions for the sovereign AI ecosystem and next-generation AI computing, respectively, highlighting Korea’s status as a hub for global corporate investment and drawing strong interest from international investors.