The plans suggest the firm is listening to calls for change after US hedge fund Elliott last month urged it to divide into listed holding and operating firms to streamline a byzantine ownership structure. The US firm also called for an increase in share dividends, the addition of new independent board members and a listing in New York. The Lee family controls the vast Samsung group – the South's top business group – through a web of complicated cross shareholdings among its units including the flagship Samsung Electronics. "Samsung addressed a strong determination to overhaul its governance structure," said Lee Sang-Hun, analyst at Hi Investment & Securities. The latest announcement implies that the firm would eventually split to set up a holding company "in May or June next year", he added. However, he warned that the growing political scandal surrounding President Park Geun-Hye that has engulfed the company could delay the overhaul.