South Korea's state-run firms have increased the number of new employees for the past few years, but the figure for new female recruits has fallen, a report by a corporate research firm said Sunday.

The number of new employees recruited by 35 state-run firms rose to 5,736 last year, up 18.5 percent from 2012, according to the statistics by CEO Score.

The number of new female employees, however, dropped to 1,146 last year from 1,155 in 2012.

The Korea Electric Power Corp. employed the most, with

1,314 people last year, up 38.7 percent from a year earlier.

The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. came in second with 832, followed by the Korea Railroad Corp. at 604, and the Korea Water Resources Corp. at 310. The findings showed the Korea Expressway Corp. hired 245 new workers, and the Korea Gas Corp. added 214 people to its payroll.

Of these, KEPCO employed 301 new female workers, the highest number among the state-run firms.

The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. employed 140 new female recruits last year, while the Korea Railroad Corp. and the Korea Water Resources Corp.  employed 98 and 87 new female employees, respectively. (Yonhap)