South Korea's overseas direct investment fell in the second quarter due to a decline in investment into Asian countries, a government report showed Friday.

Money directed invested in foreign countries was 8.47 billion U.S. dollars in the April-June quarter, down 3.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

From the previous quarter, it tumbled 37 percent as the first-quarter figure reached a record high of 13.45 billion dollars, caused by Samsung Electronics' acquisition of Harman, the former U.S. car component and audio company.

Direct investment in overseas manufacturing industries plunged 22.8 percent, with those in financial and real estate sectors posting a double-digit reduction.

Investment in Asian countries declined 16.5 percent due to the lower capital spending on the manufacturing sector. Those to North America and Europe advanced 21.4 percent and 18.7 percent respectively.

Greenfield investment, which starts a new venture and builds factories, dropped 24.2 percent, but the investment through mergers and acquisitions (M&As) surged 50.7 percent.

The finance ministry forecast that the direct overseas investment would increase later this year thanks to recovering global economy, rising global trade and the booming global stock market.