S.Korea Q1 FDI down for 2nd qtr to 4-1/2-yr low

SEOUL, April 6 (Reuters) - Foreign direct investment (FDI) plans received by South Korea for the first three months of this year fell for a second consecutive quarter to a four-and-a-half-year low, government data showed on Tuesday.

Asia's fourth-largest economy received FDI investment pledges totalling $1.54 billion during the first quarter, the smallest since the second quarter of 2005, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement.

The figure was down 8.2 percent from a year earlier, the second consecutive quarterly loss, following a 19.2 percent annual fall in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The country aims to attract a total of $13 billion in FDI plans this year, a 13 percent rise from 2009.

(Reporting by Cheon Jong-woo; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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