More than half of South Korean companies have plans to hire older, experienced workers this year, partly for their expertise but also for their ability to interact and lead others with less experience, a survey showed Tuesday.

In a recent survey conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries, 54.7 percent of 1,026 small and medium-sized firms polled said they had plans to hire new employees aged 40 years or older.

Only about 20 percent said they had no such plans, while the remaining 25.5 percent said they have not decided.

Of those surveyed, 31.7 percent said the new workers' ability to work with others topped the list of traits they would first consider, while 23 percent pointed out their previous work experience and expertise as the single most important factor.

Out of 851 firms that said they have hired new, experienced workers aged over 40 years old over the past five years, 70.5 percent said such employees contributed to improving their business performance. Only 5.4 percent or 46 out of the total said their older workers have proved to be of little to no help.

Still, some 35 percent of respondents noted difficulties in setting the salary of for these workers, while another 17.2 percent said they feared problems between new and existing employees stemming from the age gap.

"Most companies that have hired older workers say their employment helped improve their performance," said Bae Myung-han, head of the FKI's Center for Large and Small Business Cooperation.

Bae said the center will hold a series of events this year, including a job fair for older workers, to help promote employment of middle-aged and experienced workers. (Yonhap)