Summary Box: Samsung family in public spat

THE SPAT: A feud over the riches of South Korea's Samsung business empire has erupted in public as family members prepare to take an inheritance battle to court.

THE SIGNIFICANCE: The court battle might upset a dynastic succession in Samsung's leadership as it could result in the unraveling of a cross-shareholding structure that allows Lee Kun-hee to control the group as a minority shareholder.

THE PARTIES: Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., is facing off against his older brother, a sister and a nephew's wife who all want a bigger piece of the Samsung cake.