South Korea's facility investment marked a sharp decrease in the first quarter of 2009 amid a protracted economic slowdown, the central bank said Tuesday.

According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), the corporate capital spending topped 17.7 trillion won (14.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, down 22.1 percent from a year earlier.

Amid declining facility investment, South Korea's overseas payments for fees including patent rights tallied 1.32 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter, marking the steepest on year fall, 18.4 percent, since the first quarter of 2001, the BOK said.

The data comes as the South Korean economy is forecast to contract 2.4 percent this year mainly due to falling exports and deteriorated domestic demand. 

(Source: Xinhua)