Foreign direct investment (FDI) into South Korea hit a new high last year due to solid inflow from both advanced and developing countries, a government report showed Thursday.

Inward FDI reported in 2012 reached 16.26 billion U.S. dollars, up 18.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. It marked the largest in the country's history.

The FDI actually arriving here amounted to 10.38 billion dollars in 2012, up 57.8 percent from a year before. The figure was the largest since 1999.

The ministry attributed the record FDI to rising attractiveness of South Korea as investment destination following the free trade deal with major economies such as the United States and Europe. The continued inflow from Japan and China also contributed to the growth.

FDI from Greater China region, including Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, surged 106.6 percent on- year to 4.01 billion dollars in 2012. Investment from Japan soared 98.4 percent to 4.54 billion dollars amid a stronger yen against the U.S. dollar, with those from the United States jumping 54.9 percent to 3.67 billion dollars.

By industry, FDI in the manufacturing sector increased 7.8 percent in 2012 from a year before, with the number for the service industry jumping 31.7 percent.

By type, green field investment, which builds factories and creates new jobs, expanded 6.9 percent over the cited period, with investment through mergers and acquisition (M&A) skyrocketing 90.2 percent.

The ministry said the record foreign investment would create as much as 100,000 jobs in Seoul within the next three years, noting that it would boost the economy amid the weakening momentum of investment stemming from economic slowdown.