They were ordered to give an apology, and instead forwarded a conceited, weasley worded temper tantrum. There's nothing ruthless about that, it's something toddlers do every day.
Apple is certainly no angel but if you think Samsung is a company with no ethical concerns or that it isn't a ruthless competitor you haven't been looking very closely. [No very large company is completely free of ethical issues. I'm not aware of Samsung being over the line to the extent that I wouldn't work for them on that basis.]
So far I've found: http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-seeking-block-sales-up... Article claims it was just mirroring of Apple court strategy.
I don't know if that's the same thing here: http://www.firstpost.com/tech/south-korea-court-bans-both-ap... But if so then it didn't turn out particularly good for either of the companies.
There was also a bit of government protectionism in South Korea http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125367616595333125.html?mod=... but I think you can't attribute this to Samsung offensive action.
Unfortunately, the class you mention tends to be overshadowed by this. Apple can't afford to be classy, if it gives up it's bullying ways for even a short period of time, it will find that Samsung responds not in kind, but will sense weakness and launch an even stronger offence.
What we have now is a case of mutually assured destruction, eventually both companies will be so wrapped up in legal dealings and spiteful actions that they will lose sight on what's really important: giving your customers cool and functional gadgets to play with, which as well as being bad for both of these companies is also bad for the industry and we, the consumers.