LG Electronics vice chairman Koo Bon-joon stressed that gaining competitiveness in software means nurturing future growth engines at an event designed to name 14 “software architects” on Tuesday.

“Gaining software competitiveness itself is a future growth engine,” said Koo. “I ask you, the software architects, to think of yourselves as one of the best experts and continuously share your knowledge and information to enhance your capabilities.”

Software architects are a group picked from the firm’s research and development departments who will be positioned in a separate team to experience a variety of software-related tasks. They will also be given yearly R&D funding for additional support.

The company plans on nurturing up to 70 software architects by the end of this year.

The announcement, which is the first of its kind, takes place as a number of global IT firms, including its rival Samsung Electronics, is upping the ante to gain competitiveness in both hardware and software.

Samsung recently recruited executives from Cisco Korea and former employees of Apple and Sony, while global software giant Google acquired hardware maker Motorola Mobility.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)