(image source: MacRumors)

BY EVAN THOMAS

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Apple’s iPhone 5 doesn’t even have a release date yet, but tech rival Samsung says it’s planning to sue to block sales of the new device in its home market of South Korea.

The Korea Times reports this is the latest of at least 23 lawsuits between the two companies, in what one Samsung executive describes as a “lingering” legal battle. Samsung will take Apple to court as soon as possible after the iPhone 5 is released.

ZDnet says if Samsung succeeds, Apple could lose the entire South Korean market - and all its potential revenue.

“The ban, if it goes ahead, would be a major blow to Apple in... one of the most Internet connected countries in the world. Though the population is just shy of 50 million, the financial impact would be huge.”

But Gizmodo says Apple’s got a track record of legal victories, and that’s not likely to change.

“Somehow I doubt Apple's worried. If a Korean court granted Samsung the injunction, it'd be an unprecedented victory in the tedious patent slap fight between the two companies. Will it prevail? Probably not.”

A writer for TIME’s Techland sounds tired of the back-and-forth, saying-- this sort of suit-countersuit behavior is standard fare in the tech world, but this one has been dragging on longer than is healthy.

“Usually, these things just end with licensing agreements that make lawyers rich... Part of me hopes that Samsung succeeds... if only so both companies can hurry up and settle. When products get pulled from store shelves, consumers lose.”

Analysts predict the iPhone 5 could hit the market as early as this month.