Foreign direct investment (FDI) into South Korea hits a new record high in the first half of this year due to a surge in demand from China, a government report showed Tuesday.

Inward FDI reported during the January-June period was 10.33 billion U.S. dollars, the highest in the six-month period, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It was up 29.2 percent from a year earlier.

Demand from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and China's Taiwan led the record amount, with FDI pledges more than tripled from a year earlier to 2.39 billion dollars in the first half.

Meanwhile, demand from the European Union surged 31.1 percent, but those from the United States and Japan declined 0.4 percent and 15.2 percent respectively.

The ministry said it will push for a customized strategy to attract investment from China by holding presentations in Beijing and Shanghai in August and Guangzhou in November.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Seoul in early July for a summit with his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye, the two presidents agreed to strengthen cooperation in mutual investments, the ministry said.

By industry, FDI into the service and manufacturing industries jumped 23.3 percent and 36.5 percent respectively in the first half on a yearly basis.

By type, investment through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) soared 41.5 percent in the same period, and green filed investment, which builds factories and create new jobs, increased 20.4 percent.