Samsung to hire more software talents

Samsung, South Korea's biggest industrial group, said Wednesday that it will hire more software engineers and other talented professionals to prop up its competitiveness. The group, the parent of Samsung Electronics Co., will raise the portion of its workforce in mobile and computer software to 70 percent from the current 50 percent, a high-ranking executive told reporters. Samsung Electronics, the world's second-largest mobile-phone maker and top memory chipmaker, has around 25,000 employees in mobile and computer software. The move follows recent remarks by Lee Kun-hee, Samsung's chairman and a member of its founding family, who urged Samsung affiliates to secure top talents in software. Google Inc.'s latest move to acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings Ltd., Samsung's long-time rival in the mobile handset market, also instilled a sense of urgency in the South Korean firm, which has expanded its presence in overseas markets based on its forte in hardware, even though its software skills lag behind Silicon Valley firms.