GRAVITY CO.,LTD
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
June 30, 2005
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 20-F
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(Mark One) |
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o
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REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR
(g)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
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or |
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þ
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ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
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For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 |
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or |
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TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
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For the transition period
from to |
Commission file
number: -
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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N/A
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The Republic of Korea |
(Translation of registrants name into English) |
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(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
Shingu Building, 620-2 Shinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu
Seoul 135-894 Korea
(Address of
principal executive offices)
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to
Section 12(b) of the Act:
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Title of Each Class |
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Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered |
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Common stock, par value Won 500 per share*
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Nasdaq National Market |
American depositary shares, each representing
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Nasdaq National Market |
one-fourth of a share of common stock
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* |
Not for trading, but only in connection with the listing of
American depositary shares on the Nasdaq National Market
pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange
Commission. |
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to
Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant
to Section 15(d) of the Act:
None
Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the
issuers classes of capital or common stock as of the close
of the last full fiscal year covered by this Annual Report:
6,948,900 shares of common stock, par value of Won
500 per share
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed
all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding
12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant
was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject
to such filing requirements for the past 90 days:
Yes þ No o
Indicate by check mark which financial statement item the
registrant has elected to follow:
Item 17 o Item 18 þ
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
ii
CERTAIN DEFINED TERMS
Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this annual
report to:
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Korea or the Republic are to The
Republic of Korea, |
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Government are to the government of the Republic, |
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China or the PRC are to the
Peoples Republic of China, |
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Taiwan or the ROC are to Taiwan, the
Republic of China, and |
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GRAVITY, we, us,
our, or our company are to GRAVITY Co.,
Ltd. and its subsidiaries. |
For your convenience, this annual report contains translations
of certain Won amounts into U.S. dollars at the noon buying
rates of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for Won in effect
on December 31, 2004 which was W1,035.1 to US$1.00.
Discrepancies in tables between totals and sums of the amounts
listed are due to rounding.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This annual report on Form 20-F includes future
expectations, projections or forward-looking
statements (as defined in Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934). Forward-looking statements include
statements regarding our expectations and projections for future
operating performance and business prospects. The words
believe, expect, anticipate,
estimate, project and similar words used
in connection with any discussion of our future operating or
financial performance identify forward-looking statements. In
addition, all statements other than statements of historical
facts included in this document are forward-looking statements.
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the
forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no
assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. All
forward-looking statements are managements present
expectations of future events and are subject to a number of
factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those described in the forward-looking
statements. This document discloses, under the caption
Risk Factors and elsewhere, important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from our
expectations.
We caution you not to place undue reliance on the
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of
this document. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking
statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf
are expressly qualified in their entirety by these
forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise
except as required by law. In light of these risks,
uncertainties and assumptions the forward-looking events
discussed in this annual report might not occur and our actual
results may differ materially from those anticipated in these
forward-looking statements.
1
PART I
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ITEM 1. |
IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND
ADVISERS |
1.A. Directors and Senior
Management
Not applicable.
1.B. Advisers
Not applicable.
1.C. Auditors
Not applicable.
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ITEM 2. |
OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE |
Not applicable.
3.A. Selected Financial Data
The following selected consolidated financial information is
derived from our consolidated financial statements as of each of
the dates and for each of the periods indicated below. This
information should be read in conjunction with our audited
consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto,
included in this annual report. Our consolidated financial
statements and related notes thereto have been prepared in
accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the
United States.
2
The balance sheet data as of December 31, 2000 and the
statement of operations data for the period from our inception
on April 4, 2000 through December 31, 2000 are derived
from our unaudited financial statements and related notes, which
are not included in this annual report. The balance sheet data
as of December 31, 2001 and 2002 and the statement of
operations data for the year ended December 31, 2001 are
derived from our audited financial statements and related notes,
which are not included in this annual report.
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As of and For the Years Ended December 31, | |
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2000(1) | |
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2001 | |
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2002 | |
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2003 | |
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2004 | |
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2004(2) | |
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(Unaudited) | |
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(Unaudited) | |
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(In millions of Won and thousands of US$, except share and per share data, operating | |
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data and percentages) | |
Statement of operations:
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Revenues:
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Online games subscription revenue
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W |
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W |
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W |
7,310 |
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W |
18,560 |
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W |
16,253 |
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US$ |
15,702 |
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Online games royalties and license fees
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2,079 |
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22,804 |
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44,236 |
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42,736 |
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Mobile games
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43 |
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480 |
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464 |
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Character merchandising, animation and other revenue
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405 |
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167 |
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427 |
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1,024 |
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3,471 |
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3,353 |
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Total revenues
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405 |
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167 |
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9,816 |
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42,431 |
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64,440 |
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62,255 |
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Cost of revenues
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336 |
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1,735 |
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6,866 |
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10,309 |
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9,959 |
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Gross profit
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69 |
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167 |
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8,081 |
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35,565 |
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54,131 |
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52,296 |
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Operating expenses:
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Selling, general and administrative
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211 |
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354 |
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4,956 |
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11,115 |
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13,719 |
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13,253 |
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Research and development
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208 |
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718 |
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815 |
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1,597 |
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2,030 |
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1,962 |
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Operating income (loss)
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(350 |
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(905 |
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2,310 |
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22,853 |
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38,382 |
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37,081 |
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Other income (expense)
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(3 |
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(2,339 |
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(5,649 |
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(4,548 |
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(4,393 |
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Income (loss) before income tax expenses, minority interest, and
losses from equity method investee
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(350 |
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(908 |
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(29 |
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17,204 |
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33,834 |
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32,688 |
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Income tax expenses
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467 |
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2,535 |
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4,402 |
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4,253 |
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Income (loss) before minority interest and losses from equity
method investee
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(350 |
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(908 |
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(496 |
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14,669 |
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29,432 |
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28,435 |
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Minority interest
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(17 |
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(16 |
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Equity in loss of related joint venture
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248 |
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240 |
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Net income (loss)
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W |
(350 |
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W |
(908 |
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W |
(496 |
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W |
14,669 |
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W |
29,201 |
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US$ |
28,211 |
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Earnings (loss) per share:
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Basic and diluted per share
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W |
(350 |
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W |
(492 |
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W |
(148 |
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W |
2,859 |
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W |
5,263 |
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US$ |
5.08 |
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Basic and diluted per ADS
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Weighted average number of shares outstanding (basic and diluted)
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1,000,000 |
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1,846,575 |
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3,355,616 |
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5,130,895 |
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5,548,900 |
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5,548,900 |
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Balance sheet data:
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Cash and cash equivalents
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W |
39 |
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W |
1,820 |
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W |
560 |
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W |
5,405 |
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W |
16,405 |
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US$ |
15,849 |
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Total current assets
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75 |
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2,383 |
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7,425 |
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17,304 |
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40,098 |
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38,738 |
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Property and equipment, net
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88 |
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522 |
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2,254 |
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5,694 |
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14,951 |
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14,444 |
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Total assets
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208 |
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3,055 |
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11,509 |
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28,765 |
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62,134 |
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60,027 |
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Total current liabilities
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38 |
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1,123 |
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7,677 |
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9,051 |
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10,319 |
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9,970 |
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Total liabilities
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58 |
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2,912 |
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11,772 |
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10,945 |
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15,204 |
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14,688 |
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Total shareholders equity
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150 |
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143 |
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(263 |
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17,820 |
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46,930 |
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45,339 |
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3
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As of and For the Years Ended December 31, | |
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2000(1) | |
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2001 | |
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2002 | |
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2003 | |
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2004 | |
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2004(2) | |
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(Unaudited) | |
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(Unaudited) | |
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(In millions of Won and thousands of US$, except share and per share data, operating | |
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data and percentages) | |
Selected operating data and financial ratios:
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Aggregate peak concurrent Ragnarok Online users(3)
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200,150 |
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597,615 |
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762,585 |
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762,585 |
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Average concurrent Ragnarok Online users(4)
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79,364 |
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252,457 |
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452,519 |
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452,519 |
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Gross profit margin(5)
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17.0 |
% |
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100.0 |
% |
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82.3 |
% |
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83.8 |
% |
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84.0 |
% |
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84.0 |
% |
Operating profit margin(6)
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N/M |
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N/M |
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23.5 |
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53.9 |
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59.6 |
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59.6 |
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Net profit margin(7)
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N/M |
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N/M |
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(5.1 |
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34.6 |
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45.3 |
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45.3 |
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N/ M = not meaningful
Notes:
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(1) |
Reflects financial information since our inception on
April 4, 2000. |
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(2) |
For convenience, the Won amounts are expressed in
U.S. dollars at the rate of W1,035.1 to US$1.00, the noon
buying rate in effect on December 31, 2004 as quoted by the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York. |
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(3) |
The number of peak concurrent users in a given period for a
country in which Ragnarok Online is commercially offered
represents the highest number of users simultaneously logged on
to our games servers during that period in that country.
The aggregate monthly number of peak concurrent users is
computed by adding the number of peak concurrent users for a
given month in all of the countries in which Ragnarok Online is
commercially offered. The aggregate number of peak concurrent
users for any longer period represents the highest aggregate
monthly peak concurrent user number within that given period.
The number of peak concurrent users in a country (or in the case
of Taiwan and Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, or Germany,
Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Turkey, in such group of
countries) is determined on the basis of computer-generated data
that shows the number of concurrent users for such country or
group of countries, as applicable, at generally one-minute
intervals. Within a given month, due to time differences and
other factors, the exact point in time at which the peak number
of concurrent users is reached may differ from country to
country. |
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(4) |
The number of average concurrent Ragnarok Online users in a
given period represents the sum of the average number of
concurrent users for that period in Korea, Japan, Taiwan/ Hong
Kong, Thailand and China, the five key markets, in terms of
revenue contribution from Ragnarok Online, in which it is
commercially offered. The number of average concurrent users in
a given period is computed by adding the monthly average number
of concurrent users and dividing the total by the number of
months in the same period. The monthly average number of
concurrent users is computed by adding the daily average number
of concurrent users during a given month and dividing the total
by the actual number of days in that month. The daily average
number of concurrent users is generally computed by adding the
number of concurrent users selected in three-hour intervals (for
example, the number of concurrent users at 12:00 am,
3:00 am, 6:00 am, 9:00 am, 12:00 pm,
3:00 pm, 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm on a given day) and
dividing it by eight. In certain limited situations, for
example, when our servers are down for maintenance or updates or
when our monitoring server fails to maintain connection to our
game servers, the number of our concurrent users at such time
will appear as zero. We have adjusted the daily
average number of concurrent users to remove this information
from our computation. Within a given period, due to time
differences and other factors, the exact points in time used to
calculate the average number of concurrent users may differ from
country to country. |
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(5) |
Gross profit margin is calculated as gross profit divided by
total revenues. |
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(6) |
Operating profit margin is calculated as operating income (loss)
divided by total revenues. |
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(7) |
Net profit margin is calculated as net income (loss) divided by
total revenues. |
Exchange Rates
Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the Korean Won and
U.S. dollar may affect the market price of our ADSs. These
fluctuations will also affect the U.S. dollar conversion by
the depositary of any cash dividends
4
paid in Korean Won and the Korean Won proceeds received by the
depositary from any sale of our common shares represented by our
ADSs.
In certain parts of this annual report, we have translated
Korean Won amounts into U.S. dollars for the convenience of
the investors using noon buying rates. The noon buying
rate is the rate in The City of New York used for
cable transfers in foreign currencies as certified for customs
purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Unless
otherwise stated, all translations from Korean Won to
U.S. dollars were made at W1,035.1 to US$1.00, which was
the noon buying rate announced on December 31, 2004. The
translation is not a representation that the Korean Won or
U.S. dollar amounts referred to herein could have been or
could be converted into U.S. dollars or Korean Won, as the
case may be, at any particular rate, or at all. The table below
sets forth, for the periods indicated, information concerning
the noon buying rate for Korean Won, expressed in Won per one
U.S. dollar.
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Year Ended December 31, |
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At End of Period | |
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Average(1) | |
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High | |
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Low | |
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(Won per US$1.00) | |
2000
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1,267.0 |
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1,130.9 |
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1,267.0 |
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1,105.5 |
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2001
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1,313.5 |
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1,292.0 |
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1,369.0 |
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1,234.0 |
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2002
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1,186.3 |
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1,250.4 |
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1,332.0 |
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1,160.6 |
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2003
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1,192.0 |
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|
1,192.1 |
|
|
|
1,262.0 |
|
|
|
1,146.0 |
|
2004
|
|
|
1,035.1 |
|
|
|
1,139.3 |
|
|
|
1,195.1 |
|
|
|
1,035.1 |
|
2005 (through June 24)
|
|
|
1,013.5 |
|
|
|
1,014.8 |
|
|
|
1,058.0 |
|
|
|
997.0 |
|
|
January
|
|
|
1,026.9 |
|
|
|
1,038.0 |
|
|
|
1,058.0 |
|
|
|
1,024.0 |
|
|
February
|
|
|
1,000.9 |
|
|
|
1,023.1 |
|
|
|
1,044.0 |
|
|
|
1,000.9 |
|
|
March
|
|
|
1,015.4 |
|
|
|
1,007.8 |
|
|
|
1,023.9 |
|
|
|
997.5 |
|
|
April
|
|
|
997.0 |
|
|
|
1,019.0 |
|
|
|
1,000.4 |
|
|
|
1,009.0 |
|
|
May
|
|
|
1,005.0 |
|
|
|
1,001.8 |
|
|
|
1,009.0 |
|
|
|
997.0 |
|
|
June (through June 24)
|
|
|
1,013.5 |
|
|
|
1,009.6 |
|
|
|
1,016.0 |
|
|
|
1,003.0 |
|
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Note:
|
|
(1) |
Annual and monthly averages are calculated using the average of
the daily rates during the relevant period. |
3.B. Capitalization and
Indebtedness
Not applicable.
3.C. Reasons for the Offer and
Use of Proceeds
Not applicable.
3.D. Risk Factors
Risks related to our business
|
|
|
We currently depend on one product, Ragnarok Online, for
substantially all of our revenues. |
Substantially all of our revenues are currently derived from a
single product, Ragnarok Online. In 2004, we derived
approximately 93.9% of our revenues from Ragnarok Online. We
expect to continue to derive a substantial majority of our
revenues from Ragnarok Online through at least 2005. Failure by
us to maintain, improve, update or enhance Ragnarok Online in a
timely manner or successfully enter new markets could reduce
Ragnarok Onlines user base, decrease its popularity, or
reduce revenues generated from it and materially and adversely
affect our business, financial condition and results of
operations.
5
|
|
|
We depend on license fees and royalty payments from our
overseas licensees for a substantial portion of our
revenues. |
In markets other than Korea, the United States and Canada, we
license Ragnarok Online to overseas operators or distributors
from whom we receive license fees and royalty payments based on
a percentage of such operators revenues from Ragnarok
Online pursuant to license arrangements. Such overseas license
fees and royalty payments represented 68.6% of our revenues in
2004. In 2004, we derived 28.2% of our total revenues from
GungHo Online Entertainment Inc., our licensee in Japan, and
23.8% of our total revenues from Soft-World International
Corporation, our licensee in Taiwan. Deterioration in financial
condition or adverse developments in the results of operations
of our overseas licensees may materially and adversely affect
our business, financial conditions and results of operations.
|
|
|
In many of our markets, we rely heavily on our overseas
licensees to operate and distribute our games. |
We rely on our overseas licensees for substantially all aspects
of our overseas operations, including:
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|
holding the required government licenses for the operation and
distribution of our games, |
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|
publishing, advertising and marketing our games, |
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|
establishing the pricing of our games after consultation with us, |
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owning and operating the server network and other aspects of
game management and maintenance, |
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|
providing customer service and trouble-shooting, |
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maintaining network security and providing back-up for game data
and software, and |
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billing and collecting subscription fees from users and
remitting royalty payments to us. |
Under the license arrangements, our overseas licensees may
operate or publish other online games developed or offered by
our competitors. Therefore, our overseas licensees may devote
greater time and resources to marketing their proprietary games
or those of our competitors than to ours.
Our overseas licensees are responsible for complying with local
laws, including obtaining and maintaining the requisite
government licenses and permits. Failure by our overseas
licensees to do so may have a material adverse effect on our
business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our overseas licensees are responsible for remitting royalty
payments to us based on a percentage of sales from our games,
after deducting certain expenses. We generally are advised by
each of our licensees as to the amount of royalties earned by us
from such licensee within 30 to 45 days following the end
of each month. Online payment systems in China and certain other
countries are still in a developmental stage and are not as
widely available or used. Payment for online game services in
these countries typically take the form of prepaid cards sold in
Internet cafés, convenience stores and other distribution
channels. Some of our overseas licensees rely heavily on a
multilayer distribution and payment network composed of third
party distributors for sales to, and collection of payments
from, users. Failure by our licensees to maintain a stable and
efficient billing, recording, distribution and payment
collection network in these markets may result in inaccurate
recording of sales or insufficient collection of payments from
these markets and may materially and adversely affect our
financial condition and results of operations.
Our reliance on third parties that we do not control exposes us
to certain risks that we would not encounter if we were to
operate or distribute directly in such markets. If our overseas
licensees fail to perform their contractual obligations or
suffer from management or other problems in their businesses,
our business operations in overseas markets and our ability to
collect royalty payments from such markets may be materially and
adversely affected. We may not be able to easily terminate our
license agreements with our overseas licensees as these
agreements do not specify particular financial or performance
criteria that need to be met by our licensees. As our overseas
licensees generally have the exclusive right to distribute our
games in their respective markets typically for a term of two
years, we may not be able to enter into a new license agreement
in a particular country for the term of the agreement unless it
is terminated earlier. In general, we may not unilaterally
terminate our license agreements.
6
|
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|
If we are unable to consistently develop, acquire,
license, launch, market or operate commercially successful
online games in addition to Ragnarok Online, our business,
financial condition and results of operations may be materially
and adversely affected. |
In order to maintain our growth and profitability, we must
continually develop or publish commercially successful new
online games in addition to Ragnarok Online that will retain our
existing users and attract new users. To date, we have acquired
a controlling interest of a third party developer that develops
R.O.S.E, from whom we used to have an exclusive license to
distribute R.O.S.E. Online and are internally developing Requiem
and Ragnarok Online 2, a sequel to Ragnarok Online. A
games commercial success largely depends on appealing to
the tastes and preferences of a critical mass of users as well
as the willingness of such users to continue as paying
subscribers after the completion of the free open beta testing
stage, all of which are difficult to predict prior to a
games development and introduction. Developing games
internally requires substantial development costs, including the
costs of employing skilled developers and acquiring or
developing game engines which enable the creation of products
with the latest technological features. In order to succeed, we
must acquire, license or develop promising games at an
acceptable cost and ensure technical support for the successful
operation of such games. The online game publishing market is
highly competitive and we may not be able to acquire or license
promising games at an acceptable cost. In order to successfully
distribute and operate a game, we also need a sizable game
management and support staff, continued investment in technology
and a substantial marketing budget. We cannot assure you that
the games we develop or publish will be attractive to users or
otherwise be commercially successful, launched as scheduled or
able to successfully compete with games operated by our
competitors. If we are not able to consistently develop,
acquire, license, launch, market or operate commercially
successful online games, we may not be able to generate enough
revenues to offset our initial development, acquisition,
licensing or marketing costs, and our future business, financial
condition and results of operations will be materially and
adversely affected.
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|
We operate in a highly competitive industry and compete
against many large companies. |
There are many companies in the world, including over
100 companies in Korea alone, that are dedicated to
developing and/or operating online games. We expect more
companies to enter the online game industry and a wider range of
online games to be introduced in our current and future markets.
Our competitors in the massively multiplayer online role playing
game industry vary in size from small companies to very large
companies with dominant markets shares such as NCsoft and
Shanda. We also compete with online casual game and game portal
companies such as NHN, Nexon and CJ Internet. In addition, we
may face stronger competition from console game companies, such
as Sony, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Nintendo and Sega, many of
which have announced their intention to expand their game
services and offerings over broadband Internet. Many of our
competitors have significantly greater financial, marketing and
game development resources than we have. As a result, we may not
be able to devote adequate resources to develop, acquire or
license new games, undertake extensive marketing campaigns,
adopt aggressive pricing policies or adequately compensate our
or third-party game developers to the same degree as certain of
our competitors.
As the online game industry in many of our markets is relatively
new and rapidly evolving, our current or future competitors may
compete more successfully as the industry matures. In
particular, any of our competitors may offer products and
services that have significant performance, price, creativity or
other advantages over those offered by us. These products and
services may weaken the market strength of our brand name and
achieve greater market acceptance than ours. In addition, any of
our current or future competitors may be acquired by, receive
investments from or enter into other strategic relationships
with larger, longer-established and better-financed companies
and therefore obtain significantly greater financial, marketing
and game licensing and development resources than we have.
Increased competition in the online game industry in our markets
could make it difficult for us to retain existing users and
attract new users, and could reduce the number of hours users
spend playing our current or future games or cause us and our
licensees to reduce the fees charged to play our current or
future games. In some of the countries in which our games are
distributed, such as Korea and Taiwan, growth of the market for
online games has slowed while competition continues to be
strong. If we are unable to compete effectively in our principal
markets, our business, financial condition and results of
operations could be materially and adversely affected.
7
|
|
|
We have a limited operating history, which may make it
difficult for you to evaluate our business. |
We have a limited operating history upon which you can evaluate
our business and prospects. Our business was established in
April 2000 but Ragnarok Online was commercially introduced in
August 2002. Our senior management and employees have worked
together at our company for a relatively short period of time,
including as a result of frequent changes in senior management
to date. In addition, the online game industry, from which we
derive substantially all of our revenues, is a relatively new
industry. The first massively multiplayer online role playing
game in Korea was developed and distributed by one of our
competitors in 1996. Since then, only a limited number of
companies have successfully commercialized such online games on
an international scale. You must consider our business prospects
in light of the risks and difficulties we will encounter as an
early-stage company in a new and rapidly evolving industry. We
may not be able to successfully address these risks and
difficulties, which could materially harm our business,
financial condition and results of operations.
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|
|
Rapid technological change may adversely affect our future
revenues and profitability. |
The online game industry is subject to rapid technological
change in areas including hardware, software and content
programming. We need to anticipate the emergence of new
technologies and games, assess their likely market acceptance,
and make substantial game development and related investments.
In addition, new technologies in online game programming or
operations could render our current or future games obsolete or
unattractive to our subscribers, thereby limiting our ability to
recover game-related development, acquisition or licensing costs
and potentially materially and adversely affecting our business,
financial condition and results of operations.
|
|
|
If we fail to retain and hire skilled and experienced game
developers or other key personnel in order to design and develop
new online games and additional game features, we may be unable
to achieve our business objectives. |
In order to meet our business objectives and maintain our
competitiveness in the future, we will need to continue to
attract and retain skilled and experienced online game
developers and other key personnel. We rely on the collective
efforts of our game development teams led by the following
officers: (i) for Ragnarok Online, Jae Woo Ahn, Min Soo
Lee, Sang Gil Hong, Myung Shin Lee and Dae Hee Chung,
(ii) for Ragnarok Online II, Young Woo Park, Shin Seok
Kang, Suk Ho Chung and Byung Chan Hwang, (iii) for Requiem,
Sang Jin Woon, Yong Ho Chang, Yong Kang, Sang Chin Park and Ju
Young Roh, and (iv) for overall art direction and graphics
of all of our games, Joon Ho Jeong and Myoung-Jin Lee. While
certain of our current senior technical officers or staff
members are bound by non-competition agreements for six months
after termination of employment with us, since our industry is
characterized by high demand and intense competition for talent,
we may need to offer higher compensation and other benefits in
order to retain or replace key personnel. Since our inception in
April 2000, our chief executive officer has changed on five
occasions and several other executive officers have also
changed. In addition, as we are still a relatively young company
and our business has grown rapidly since our establishment, at
times our ability to train and integrate new employees into our
operations may not meet the growing demands of our business.
|
|
|
Undetected programming errors or flaws in our games could
harm our reputation or decrease market acceptance of our games,
which would materially and adversely affect our results of
operations. |
Our current and future games may contain errors or flaws, which
may become apparent only after their release. In addition, our
online games are developed using programs and engines developed
by and licensed from third party vendors, which may include
programming errors or flaws over which we have no control. If
our users have a negative experience with our games related to
or caused by undetected programming errors or flaws, they may be
less inclined to continue or resume subscriptions for our games
or recommend our games to other potential users. Undetected
programming errors and game defects can also harm our
reputation, cause our users to cease playing our games, divert
our resources or delay market acceptance of our games, any of
which could materially and adversely affect our business,
financial condition and results of operations.
8
|
|
|
Unexpected network interruptions, security breaches or
computer virus attacks could harm our business. |
Any failure to maintain satisfactory performance, reliability,
security and availability of our network infrastructure, whether
maintained by us or by our overseas licensees, may cause
significant harm to our reputation and our ability to attract
and maintain users. Major risks relating to our network
infrastructure include:
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|
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|
|
any breakdowns or system failures, including from fire, flood,
earthquake, typhoon or other natural disasters, power loss or
telecommunications failure, resulting in a sustained shutdown of
all or a material portion of our servers; |
|
|
|
any disruption or failure in the national or international
backbone telecommunications network, which would prevent users
in certain countries in which our games are distributed from
logging onto or playing our games for which the game servers are
all located in other countries; and |
|
|
|
any security breach caused by hacking, loss or corruption of
data or malfunctions of software, hardware or other computer
equipment, and the inadvertent transmission of computer viruses. |
From time to time, we detect users that gain an unfair advantage
by modifying Ragnarok Online execution files saved on the
users computers to facilitate progression of game
characters. Unauthorized character manipulation may negatively
impact the image and users perception of Ragnarok Online
and could limit our growth. In addition, the number of Ragnarok
Online users may be reduced since the deletion of unauthorized
character enhancements requires the affected users to restart
with a new character at the beginner level and may cause them to
cease playing Ragnarok Online.
Any of the foregoing factors that could interrupt the
availability of our games or deteriorate the actual or perceived
quality of access to our games, which could reduce our
users satisfaction and harm our business.
|
|
|
Unauthorized use of our intellectual property by third
parties, and the expenses incurred in protecting our
intellectual property rights, may adversely affect our
business. |
We regard our copyrights, service marks, trademarks, trade
secrets and other intellectual property as critical to our
success. Unauthorized use of the intellectual property used in
our business, whether owned by us or licensed to us, may
materially and adversely affect our business and reputation.
We rely on trademark and copyright law, trade secret protection
and confidentiality agreements with our employees, customers,
business partners and others to protect our intellectual
property rights. Despite our precautions, it may be possible for
third parties to obtain and use our intellectual property
without authorization. For example, in April 2003 we discovered
that the server-end software of Ragnarok Online was unlawfully
released into Korea, China and the United States. The software
piracy enabled unauthorized third parties to set up local server
networks to operate Ragnarok Online, which may have resulted in
a diversion of a significant number of paying subscribers. Since
then, we have designated certain employees to be responsible for
detecting these illegal servers and reporting them to the
relevant enforcement authority in Korea in charge of crimes on
the Internet. In overseas markets, we cooperate with and rely on
our overseas licensees to seek enforcement actions against
operators of illegal free servers. We may incur considerable
costs in the future to remedy software piracy and to enforce our
rights against the operators of unauthorized server networks.
The validity, enforceability, enforcement mechanisms and scope
of protection of intellectual property in Internet-related
industries are uncertain and evolving. In particular, the laws
and enforcement procedures of Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand,
China and certain other countries in which our games are
distributed are uncertain or do not protect intellectual
property rights to the same extent as do the laws and
enforcement procedures of the United States. Moreover,
litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our
intellectual property rights. Future litigation could result in
substantial costs and diversion of our resources, and could
disrupt our business, as well as have a material adverse effect
on our financial condition and results of operations.
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|
|
We may be subject to future intellectual property rights
claims, which could result in substantial costs and diversion of
our financial and management resources. |
We cannot be certain that our online games do not or will not
infringe upon patents, copyrights or other intellectual property
rights held by third parties. We may become subject to legal
proceedings and claims from time to time relating to the
intellectual property of others in the ordinary course of our
business. If we are found
9
to have violated the intellectual property rights of others, we
may be enjoined from using such intellectual property, and we
may incur licensing fees or be forced to develop alternatives.
In addition, we may incur substantial expenses in defending
against these third party infringement claims, regardless of
their merit. Successful infringement or licensing claims against
us may result in substantial monetary liabilities, which may
materially disrupt the conduct of our business.
Certain of our employees were recruited from other online game
developers, including certain of our current or potential
competitors. To the extent these employees have been and are
involved in the development of our games similar to the
development in which they have been involved at their former
employers, we may become subject to claims that such employees
or we have improperly used or disclosed trade secrets or other
proprietary information. Although we are not aware of any
pending or threatened claims of this type, if any such claims
were to arise in the future, litigation or other dispute
resolution procedures might be necessary to retain our ability
to offer our current and future games, which could result in
substantial costs and diversion of our financial and management
resources.
|
|
|
The discontinuation of any of the preferential tax
treatments currently available to us in Korea could materially
and adversely affect our business, financial condition and
results of operations. |
Under Korean law and regulations, a small- and medium-sized
venture company may be entitled to enjoy a preferential tax
treatment from the Korean government in the form of a 50%
reduction in corporate income tax rates for the year in which it
first generates taxable income and the following five years if
such company satisfies a number of financial and non-financial
criteria, including the maintenance of its status as a
designated venture company. In 2003, when we first generated
taxable income, we qualified for the preferential tax treatment
and enjoyed the 50% reduction in corporate income tax rates. In
2004, we also qualified for this preferential treatment and our
applicable corporate income tax rate (including resident surtax)
was 14.85% after the 50% reduction. A company that engages in
data processing or computer related businesses, including us,
may qualify as a small- and medium-sized enterprise under the
Framework Act on Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises if, among
other things, (i) we hire less than three hundred full-time
employees or (ii) our total revenue does not exceed
W30 billion (US$29 million). In 2004, we failed to
satisfy both of these tests. However, even if a company fails to
satisfy both of the preceding requirements, it will continue to
enjoy its status as a small-and medium-sized enterprise for the
following three years so long as that company neither
(x) merges into, nor consolidates with, another company nor
(y) becomes an affiliate of certain large enterprises.
Accordingly, we will continue to qualify as a small- and
medium-sized company through 2007 if we do neither of those
things. However, after 2004, we may not be able to qualify for
the preferential tax treatment because our status as a
designated venture company is subject to renewal in 2005 and
there is no guarantee that we will so qualify based on the
non-financial criteria, which involve a relatively subjective
determination by the regulatory authority as to whether we
possess a superior innovative technological ability.
A designated venture company, including us, must qualify every
two years based on the evaluation described above. Accordingly,
our tax rate may increase substantially. The discontinuation of
this preferential tax treatment could materially and adversely
affect our net income. See Item 5.A. Operating
Results Overview Income tax
expenses.
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Our limited resources may affect our ability to manage our
growth. |
Our growth to date has placed, and the anticipated further
expansion of our operations will continue to place, a
significant strain on our management, systems and resources. In
addition to training and managing our workforce, we will need to
continue to develop and improve our financial and management
controls as well as our reporting systems and procedures, which
will especially be the case since we have become a public
company after our initial public offering in February 2005. We
cannot assure you that we will be able to efficiently or
effectively manage the growth of our operations, and any failure
to do so may limit our future growth and materially and
adversely affect our business, financial condition and results
of operations.
10
|
|
|
We may not be able to successfully implement our growth
strategies. |
We are pursuing a number of growth strategies, including the
following:
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distributing games developed in-house, |
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|
|
publishing games acquired from third parties or developed by
third parties through licensing arrangements, |
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|
offering our games in countries where we currently have little
or no presence, |
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|
|
expanding into games offered over other platforms, such as game
consoles, |
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|
|
taking advantage of our popular online games to strengthen our
other lines of businesses, such as mobile games, animation and
character merchandising, and |
|
|
|
selectively pursuing acquisitions of, investments in, or joint
ventures with, game development companies, technologies and
personnel that are complementary to our existing business if the
opportunity arises. |
We cannot assure you that we will be successful in any of these
strategies. Some of these strategies relate to new services or
products for which there are no established markets, or in which
we lack experience and expertise. Our growth potential in many
of the markets in which Ragnarok Online is currently distributed
or which we intend to enter may be limited since the penetration
rate for personal computers is relatively low and the cost of
Internet access relative to the per capita income is higher in
such markets when compared to some of our principal markets such
as Korea and Japan. If we decide to pursue acquisitions,
investments or joint ventures to achieve growth, the success of
such acquisitions, investments or joint ventures will depend on
the availability of suitable acquisition and investment
candidates at an acceptable cost, our ability to compete
effectively to attract and reach agreement with acquisition
candidates or joint venture partners on commercially reasonable
terms, and the availability of financing to complete such
acquisitions, joint ventures or investments. In certain cases,
we may have liabilities that exceed the percentage of our
investments, including our interest in a joint venture and may
be bound by the decisions of our joint venture partners or other
controlling shareholders of our investee companies that we do
not necessarily agree with. We cannot be certain that any
particular acquisition, investment or joint venture will produce
the intended benefits on a timely basis or at all. For example,
in May 2003, we invested W1 billion in cash in an online
game portal business. Due to poor performance by the investee
company, we sought to nullify the investment arrangement in
December 2003 and recovered W223 million in cash and
recorded the remaining W777 million as an impairment loss.
In addition, we may not be able to renew licenses from our
licensors at an acceptable cost in a timely manner or at all or
obtain from the licensors the technical support necessary for
the satisfactory operation of these games. If we are unable to
successfully implement our growth strategies, our revenues,
profitability and competitiveness may be materially and
adversely affected.
|
|
|
We have limited business insurance coverage in
Korea. |
The insurance industry in Korea is still at an early stage of
development. In particular, Korean insurance companies offer
limited business insurance products. As a result, we do not have
any business liability or disruption insurance coverage for our
operations in Korea. In 2003 and 2004, we derived 38.8% and
21.0% of our total revenues from Korea, respectively. Any
business disruption, litigation or natural disaster might result
in our incurring substantial costs and the diversion of our
resources.
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|
|
We may be required to take significant actions that are
contrary to our business objectives in order to avoid being
deemed an investment company as defined under the Investment
Company Act of 1940, as amended. |
Generally, the Investment Company Act provides that a company is
not an investment company and is not required to register under
the Investment Company Act as an investment company if:
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|
the company is primarily engaged, directly or through a
wholly-owned subsidiary or subsidiaries, in a business or
businesses other than that of investing, reinvesting, owning,
holding or trading in securities, and |
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|
|
40% or less of the fair market value of the companys
assets is represented by investment securities. |
11
We believe that we are engaged primarily and directly in the
businesses of providing online game services, that less than 40%
of the fair market value of our assets is represented by
investment securities and, consequently, that we are not an
investment company as that term is defined under the Investment
Company Act. However, in the future we may be required to take
actions to avoid the requirement to register as an investment
company, such as shifting a significant portion of our long- and
short-term investment portfolio into low-yielding bank deposits
or other short-term securities which are not considered to be
investment securities due to their liquidity and certain other
characteristics. These types of investments may reduce the
amount of interest on other income that we could otherwise
generate from our investment activities. In addition, we may
need to acquire additional income or loss generating assets that
we might not otherwise have acquired or forego opportunities to
acquire minority interests in companies that could be important
to our strategy.
The Investment Company Act also contains regulations with
respect to investment companies, including restrictions on their
capital structure, operations, transactions with affiliates and
other matters which would be incompatible with our operations.
If we were to be deemed an investment company in the future, we
would, among other things, effectively be precluded from making
public offerings in the United States. We could also be subject
to administrative or legal proceedings and, among other things,
contracts to which we are a party might be rendered
unenforceable or subject to rescission.
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|
|
We may be considered a passive foreign investment company,
which could lead to additional taxes for you. |
Based upon the nature of our business activities, we may be
classified as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, by
the United States Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, for
U.S. federal income tax purposes. Such characterization
could result in adverse U.S. tax consequences to you if you
are a U.S. investor. For example, if we are a PFIC, our
U.S. investors will become subject to increased tax
liabilities under U.S. tax law and regulations and will
become subject to burdensome reporting requirements. The
determination of whether or not we are a PFIC is made on an
annual basis and will depend on the composition of our income
and assets from time to time. Specifically for any taxable year,
we will be classified as a PFIC for U.S. tax purposes if
either (i) 75% or more of our gross income in the taxable
year is passive income or (ii) the average percentage of
our assets by value in the taxable year which produce or are
held for the production of passive income (which includes cash)
is at least 50%. The calculation of the value of our assets will
be based, in part, on the then market value of our common shares
or ADSs, which is subject to change. In addition, the
composition of our income and assets will be affected by how,
and how quickly, we spend the cash we raised in our initial
public offering in February 2005. Based on the projected
composition of our income and valuation of our assets, including
goodwill, we do not expect to be a PFIC in 2005, or believe that
we were a PFIC in 2004, and we do not expect to become one in
the future. However, the determination of whether we are a PFIC
is made annually and it is possible that we may become a PFIC in
2005 or any future taxable year due to changes in our asset or
income composition. If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during
which you hold our ADSs or shares, you could be subject to
adverse U.S. tax consequences. See Item 10.E.
Taxation U.S. federal income and estate
tax considerations Passive foreign investment
companies.
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We and our auditors have identified certain material
weaknesses in our internal controls and if we fail to achieve
and maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may be
unable to accurately report our financial results or reduce our
ability to prevent or detect fraud, and investor confidence and
the market price of our ADSs may be adversely affected. |
Prior to our initial public offering in the United States, we
were a non-public company incorporated in Korea and thus have
traditionally reported our financial statements under Korean
GAAP. As a result, we were subject only to minimum corporate
governance and reporting standards applicable to unlisted
companies in Korea. In the process of converting from a
non-public company in Korea to a public company in the US, we
have discovered areas of our internal controls and reporting
that need improvement. As examples, our expertise in
U.S. GAAP reporting is limited and our current enterprise
accounting system is configured to report financial results in
Korean GAAP and has not yet been customized to support
U.S. GAAP reporting. As a result, in connection with the
preparation of financial statements under U.S. GAAP, we
have used external consultants to assist us in the preparation
of financial statements and have had to use certain manual
procedures in preparing our financial statements. In connection
with their audit of our financial statements prepared under
U.S. GAAP, our
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independent registered public accountants identified certain
material weaknesses (as defined under standards established by
the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) in our finance
teams ability to support the financial reporting
requirements of a U.S. registrant. As a result of, among
other things, the complexity of our business and the related
accounting effects, the significant growth in our business and
shortage in staffing of qualified accounting personnel, our
independent accountants have specifically referenced the
following areas:
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our knowledge of general accounting and specific U.S. GAAP
issues and our lack of internal accounting resources and
reliance on external resources for accounting, U.S. GAAP,
advice and bookkeeping support; and |
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our reliance on spreadsheet programs, which are generally more
prone to errors due to the absence of effective controls over
such spreadsheet access and use, to perform consolidation and
prepare U.S. GAAP financial statements. |
Our management and audit committee are currently executing plans
to improve the identified weaknesses in internal controls
through efforts to hire personnel with appropriate levels of
U.S. GAAP experience and accounting expertise and engaging
outside resources to upgrade our enterprise reporting system to
support U.S. GAAP reporting. However, we cannot be certain
that these measures will ensure that we implement and maintain
adequate controls over our financial processes and reporting in
the future. As we are now subject to the reporting and other
obligations under U.S. federal securities laws, including
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we are subject to more stringent
obligations than those applicable to unlisted companies in
Korea. If we fail to create an effective system of internal
controls, we may not be able to accurately report our financial
results or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market
price of our ADSs may be adversely affected.
Risks related to our regulatory environment
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Our operations are subject to the regulation of the
Internet in certain of the countries in which our games are
distributed, such as Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan and Thailand,
the impact of which is difficult to predict. |
The regulatory and legal regimes in nearly all of the countries
in which our games are distributed have yet to establish a
sophisticated set of laws, rules or regulations designed to
regulate, among other things, the social, political and
financial risks relating to the online game industry. However,
in many of our key markets, such as Korea, China, Taiwan and
Thailand, the legislators and regulators have, either through
public announcements or press releases, indicated their
intention to implement laws, rules or regulations regulating and
restricting this industry, which include laws or regulations
relating to issues such as user privacy, defamation, pricing,
advertising, taxation, promotions, financial market regulation,
consumer protection, content regulation, quality of products and
services, and intellectual property ownership and infringement
that may directly or indirectly impact our activities. In some
of these countries, distribution of information over the
Internet and electronic commerce are currently under legal and
regulatory review. Other countries in which our games are
distributed or which we intend to enter may adopt similar laws
and regulations. The impact of such laws and regulations on our
business and results of operations is difficult to predict.
However, as we might unintentionally violate such laws or such
laws may be modified and new laws may be enacted in the future,
any such developments, or developments stemming from enactment
or modification of other laws, could increase the costs of
regulatory compliance, force changes in business practices or
otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business and
results of operations.
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Our online games may be subject to governmental
restrictions or rating systems, which could delay or prohibit
the release of new games or reduce the existing and potential
range of our user base. |
Legislation is periodically introduced in many of the countries
in which our games are distributed to establish a system for
protecting consumers from the influence of graphic violence and
sexually explicit materials contained in various types of games.
For instance, Korean law requires online game companies to
obtain rating classifications and implement procedures to
restrict the distribution of online games to certain age groups.
Similar mandatory rating systems and other regulations affecting
the content and distribution of our games have also been
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adopted or are under review in Taiwan, China, the United States
and other markets for our online games. In Thailand, the Thai
government has strengthened regulations by setting restricted
hours for children under 18 years of age and may introduce
additional measures for regulating online game operators. For
example, a government minister recently announced a plan to
impose additional taxes on online game operators. In the future,
we may be required to modify our games or alter our marketing
strategies to comply with new governmental regulations or new
ratings assigned to our current or future games that may call
for restrictions or modifications to our game content or
features, which could delay or prohibit the release of new games
or upgrades and reduce the existing and potential range of our
user base. Moreover, uncertainties regarding governmental
restrictions or rating systems applicable to our business could
give rise to market confusion, thereby materially and adversely
affecting our business.
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The legal systems in some of the countries where our games
are distributed have uncertainties which could limit the legal
protections available to us. |
The laws, regulations and legal requirements in many of the
countries in which our games are distributed are constantly
changing, and their interpretation and enforcement involve
uncertainties. These uncertainties could limit the legal
protections available to us. We cannot predict the effect of
future developments in the legal systems in these countries,
particularly with regard to the Internet, including the
promulgation of new laws, changes to existing laws or the
interpretation or enforcement thereof, or the preemption of
local regulations by national laws. If the cost of regulatory
compliance increases for our licensees as a result of regulatory
changes, our licensees may in the future seek to reduce
royalties and license fees, which may materially and adversely
affect our licensees business and our results of
operations and financial condition.
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If the ROC Consumer Protection Commission imposes
additional regulatory burdens on our licensee in Taiwan, our
licensee in Taiwan may require us to reduce the license fee or
royalties, or share the cost of regulatory compliance. |
In 2003 and 2004, we derived 20.3% and 23.8% of our total
revenues from our licensee in Taiwan. As a result of increasing
disputes between the online game companies and consumers in
Taiwan, the ROC Consumer Protection Commission of the Executive
Yuan may promulgate certain standard provisions that must be
included in a consumer contract that online game companies must
use in order to operate or a model consumer contract that online
game companies are encouraged to adopt. If these standard
provisions or model consumer contract are implemented, the cost
of regulatory compliance may significantly increase for our
Taiwanese licensee. Our Taiwanese licensee may in the future
seek to reduce royalties and license fees, which may materially
and adversely affect our licensees business and our
results of operations and financial condition.
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Our business may be adversely affected by complexities,
uncertainties and changes in law and regulations of China
regulating Internet companies and businesses operating in China,
including those related to online games. |
In 2003 and 2004, we derived 4.2% and 4.1% of our total revenues
from our licensee in China. The Chinese government, through
various regulatory authorities, heavily regulates the Internet
sector, which includes the online game industry. These laws and
regulations include the following:
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restrictions on content on the Internet, including restriction
on distribution of online games containing content that purports
to propagate obscenity, gambling or violence, instigate crime,
undermine public morality or the cultural traditions of China,
or compromise state security or secrets; |
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license and permit requirements for companies in the Internet
industry, including for importing and operating online games,
from various regulatory authorities; and |
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restrictions on and supervision of Internet cafés,
including closing of unlicensed Internet cafés and
requiring installation of security software to prevent access to
subversive sites. |
In addition, there are uncertainties in the interpretation and
application of existing Chinese laws, regulations and policies
regarding the businesses and activities of Internet companies
and businesses in China, including those related to our online
games. Any violations of the foregoing laws and regulations as
well as other laws and
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regulations to be introduced in the future could materially and
adversely affect the business and results of operations of our
Chinese licensee and us.
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Restrictions on currency exchange in certain of the
countries in which our games are distributed may limit our
ability to receive and remit revenues effectively. |
The governments in certain countries, including Taiwan, Thailand
and China, in which our games are distributed, impose controls
on the convertibility of the local currency into foreign
currencies and, in some cases, the remittance of currency
outside of their countries. Under current foreign exchange
control regulations, shortages in the availability of foreign
currency may restrict the ability of our overseas licensees to
pay license fees and royalties to us in U.S. dollars.
Restrictions on our ability to receive license fees, royalties
and other payments from our overseas licensees would adversely
affect our financial condition and liquidity.
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Restrictions on currency exchange in Korea in certain
emergency circumstances may limit our ability to utilize
effectively revenues generated in the Korean Won to fund our
business activities outside Korea or expenditures denominated in
foreign currencies. |
The existing and any future restrictions on currency exchange in
Korea, including Korean exchange control regulations, may
restrict our ability to convert the Korean Won into foreign
currencies under certain emergency circumstances, such as an
outbreak of natural calamities, wars, conflict of arms or grave
and sudden changes in domestic or foreign economic
circumstances, difficulties in Koreas international
balance of payments and international finance and obstacles in
carrying out currency policies, exchange rate policies and other
macroeconomic policies of Korea. Such restrictions may limit our
ability to utilize effectively revenues generated in the Korean
Won to fund our business activities outside Korea or
expenditures denominated in foreign currencies.
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Adverse changes in the withholding tax rates in the
countries from which we receive license fees and royalties could
adversely affect our net income. |
To the extent we derive revenues from countries other than
Korea, we may be subject to income withholding in those
countries. Income tax expenses include such withholding taxes.
Withholding of such taxes is done by our overseas licensees at
the current withholding rates in such countries. To the extent
Korea has a tax treaty with any such country, the withholding
rate prescribed by such tax treaty may apply. Under the
Corporation Tax Law of Korea, we are entitled to, and recognize,
a tax credit computed based on the amount of income withheld
overseas when filing our income tax return in Korea, up to a
limited amount. Accordingly, the amount of taxes withheld
overseas may be offset against tax payable in Korea. Adverse
changes in tax treaties between Korea and the countries from
which we receive license fees and royalties, in the rate of
withholding tax in the countries in which our games are
distributed or in Korean tax law enabling us to recognize tax
credits for taxes withheld overseas could adversely affect our
net income.
Risks related to our market environment
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Our businesses may be adversely affected by developments
affecting the economies of the countries in which our games are
distributed. |
Our future performance will depend in large part on the future
economic growth of our key markets. Adverse developments in such
markets may have an adverse effect on the number of our
subscribers and results of operations, which could have a
material adverse effect on our business.
A deterioration in the economies of the countries in which our
games are distributed can also occur as a result of a
deterioration in global economic conditions. The worldwide
economy has experienced periods of economic weakness since the
beginning of 2001, which has been exacerbated by the terrorist
attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, recent
developments in the Middle East, including the war in Iraq and
terrorist attacks and threats across the globe (including
Korea), rising oil prices and the economic impact of Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, a highly contagious form of
atypical pneumonia. In addition, if investors perceive that
there is a crisis in the region, such as due to SARS or economic
difficulties similar to those that Asian economies experienced
in the late 1990s, companies and economies in that region may be
adversely effected irrespective of their economic soundness.
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Any future deterioration in global economic conditions, or a
significant adverse change in politics and economies in Asia or
a loss of investor confidence in the financial systems of
emerging and other markets could have a material adverse effect
on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Fluctuations in exchange rates could result in foreign
currency exchange losses. |
In 2004, approximately 79.0% of our revenues were denominated in
foreign currencies, primarily in the U.S. dollar and the
Japanese Yen. In most of the countries in which our games are
distributed, other than the United States, Japan and Europe, the
revenues generated by our licensees in those markets are
denominated in local currencies, which include the
NT dollar, the Baht and the Renminbi. Depreciation of these
local currencies against the U.S. dollar will result in
reduced license fees and monthly royalty payments in
U.S. dollar terms and may materially and adversely affect
our financial condition and results of operations.
While we receive our monthly royalty revenues from our overseas
licensees in foreign currencies, primarily the U.S. dollar,
the Japanese Yen and the Euro, substantially all of our costs
are denominated in the Korean Won. Our financial statements are
also prepared and presented in the Korean Won. We receive
monthly royalty payments from our overseas licensees based on a
percentage of revenues confirmed and recorded at the end of each
month applying the foreign exchange rate applicable on such
date. We generally receive these royalty payments 20 to
30 days after such record date (except in Europe, where
such payments are received up to 45 days after the record
date). Appreciation of the Korean Won against these foreign
currencies during this period will result in foreign currency
losses that may materially and adversely affect our financial
condition and results of operations.
To date, we have not engaged in any foreign currency hedging
activities to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations.
We may enter into hedging transactions in the future to mitigate
our exposure to foreign currency exchange risks, but we may not
be able to do so in a timely or cost-effective manner or at all.
Risks related to specific countries in which our products are
distributed
We are incorporated and headquartered in Korea, and derived
21.0% of our revenues in 2004 from our operations in Korea. In
addition, in 2004, we derived an aggregate of 64.6% of our
revenues from Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and China. Accordingly,
our business, financial condition, results of operations and
prospects are subject, to a significant extent, to economic,
political, legal and regulatory conditions and developments in
these countries.
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Slow growth or contractions in the Internet café
industry in Korea may affect our ability to target a core group
of potential users. |
According to the 2004 report issued by the Korean Game
Development and Promotion Institute, or KGDI, the number of
active Internet cafés in Korea has declined since 2002.
Intensifying competition and more widespread availability of
personal computers, or PCs, in homes in Korea could trigger
further declines in the number of Internet cafés. Future
reductions in the number of Internet cafés operating in
Korea could adversely affect our ability to target a core group
of potential users.
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Increased tensions with North Korea could adversely affect
us. |
Relations between Korea and North Korea have been tense over
most of Koreas modern history. The level of tension
between Korea and North Korea has fluctuated and may increase or
change abruptly as a result of current and future events,
including ongoing contacts at the highest levels of the
governments of Korea and North Korea. The level of tension
between Korea and North Korea, as well as between North Korea
and the United States, has increased as a result of North
Koreas admission in October 2002 to the maintenance of a
nuclear weapons program in breach of the peace accord executed
in October 1994. In response, the United States, Japan, Korea
and the European Union (which became party to the 1994 accord in
November 2002) decided to suspend shipments of oil to North
Korea called for by the 1994 accord and reiterated their demands
for the dismantling of North Koreas nuclear weapons
program. Following the suspension of oil shipments, North Korea
removed the seals and surveillance equipment from its Yongbyon
nuclear power plant and evicted inspectors from the United
Nations International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, and has
reportedly resumed activity at its Yongbyon power plant. In
January 2003, North Korea announced its intention to withdraw
from the Nuclear
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Non-Proliferation Treaty, demanding that the United States sign
a non-aggression pact as a condition to North Korea dismantling
its nuclear program. In August 2003, representatives of Korea,
the United States, North Korea, China, Japan and Russia held
multilateral talks in an effort to resolve issues relating to
North Koreas nuclear weapons program. While the talks
concluded without resolution, participants in the August meeting
indicated that further negotiations may take place in the future
and, in February and June 2004, six-party talks were held in
Beijing, China. In June 2004, the third round of the six-party
talks resumed in Beijing, which ended with an agreement by the
parties to hold further talks by the end of September 2004,
which failed to take place as planned due to North Koreas
refusal to participate.
In February 2005, North Korea announced that it possesses
nuclear weapons and that it is suspending indefinitely its
participation in the six-party talks. Since then, various
efforts have been made to pressure North Korea to resume
participation in the six-party talks, with little success. In
April 2005, tensions increased due to rising suspicions that
North Korea is preparing to engage in nuclear testing and
allegations that North Korean nuclear weapons material had been
sold to Libya. In May 2005, two senior U.S. officials met
with North Korean diplomats in working-level contact
(a term that refers to diplomatic contact below the highest
levels) in an effort by the United States to bring North Korea
back to the negotiation table. On June 11, 2005, South
Korean President Roh Moo-hyun met with US President
George W. Bush in Washington and they confirmed that the
nuclear issue of North Korea should be settled in a peaceful
manner. Recently, North Korean leader Mr. Kim Jong-il
reportedly expressed its intention to rejoin the international
nuclear disarmament negotiations on conditions, among others,
that the United States take measures to show respect to North
Korea.
There can be no assurance that the level of tensions will not
escalate, as has frequently happened in the past. Any further
increase in tensions, which may occur, for example, if military
hostilities break out, could hurt our business, financial
condition and results of operations.
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Disruptions in Taiwans political environment could
seriously harm our business and operations |
in Taiwan.
The government of China asserts sovereignty over mainland China
and Taiwan and does not recognize the legitimacy of the
government of Taiwan. The government of China has indicated that
it may use military force to gain control over Taiwan if Taiwan
declares independence or a foreign power interferes in
Taiwans internal affairs. On December 31, 2003, the
Republic of China Referendum Law was promulgated allowing
referenda on a range of issues to be proposed and voted upon.
The law allows a referendum on key constitutional issues in the
event that Taiwan comes under military attack from a foreign
power and its sovereignty is threatened. On March 19, 2004,
Taiwans incumbent president was injured in an
assassination attempt, and the next day narrowly won a majority
of votes in Taiwans presidential election. The incumbent
president was sworn into office for a second term on
May 20, 2004 after a vote recount resulting from a legal
challenge to the election results filed by the opposition party.
The High Court of Taiwan ruled in two different lawsuits against
the opposition party in November and December 2004, against
which the opposition party appealed. In June 2005, the Supreme
Court of Taiwan ruled in one of the lawsuits against the
opposition party and such judgment is final and conclusive. The
other lawsuit is still pending with the Supreme Court of Taiwan.
In 2003 and 2004, we derived 20.3% and 23.8% of our total
revenues from our licensee in Taiwan. Deteriorations in the
relationship between Taiwan and China and other factors
affecting Taiwans political environment may materially and
adversely affect our Taiwanese licensees business and our
results of operations.
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The economic, political and social conditions, as well as
government policies in China, could adversely affect our
operations in China. |
In 2003 and 2004, we derived 4.2% and 4.1% of our total revenues
from our licensee in China, respectively. While the Chinese
economy has experienced significant growth in the past twenty
years, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among
various sectors of the economy. The Chinese government has
implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and
guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures
benefit the overall Chinese economy, but may also have a
negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and
results of operations may be adversely affected by government
control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations
that are applicable to us or our licensees.
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The Chinese economy has been transitioning from a planned
economy to a more market-oriented economy. Although the Chinese
government has implemented measures since the late 1970s
emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic
reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets
and the establishment of sound corporate governance in business
enterprises, a substantial portion of productive assets in China
is still owned by the Chinese government. In addition, the
Chinese government continues to play a significant role in
regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies.
The Chinese government also exercises significant control over
Chinas economic growth through the allocation of
resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated
obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential
treatment to particular industries or companies.
Risks Relating to Our American Depositary Shares
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Mr. Jung Ryool Kim, one of our executive directors
and our largest shareholder, has substantial control over us and
can delay or prevent a change in corporate control. |
As of June 29, 2005, Mr. Jung Ryool Kim, one of our
executive directors and our largest shareholder, beneficially
owned, in the aggregate, approximately 48.9% of our outstanding
common shares. As a result, Mr. Kim can exert significant
control over all matters requiring shareholder approval,
including the election of directors and approval of significant
corporate transactions. This voting power can delay or prevent
an acquisition of us on terms that other shareholders may
desire. Mr. Kim also has the power to prevent or cause a
change in control. In addition, the rights of minority
shareholders and the fiduciary obligations of directors and
majority shareholders in Korea may not be as extensive as those
in the United States, and the ability to assert shareholder
rights may be comparatively limited. Mr. Kim owns our
corporate headquarters building which we lease from him.
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The public shareholders of our ADSs may have more
difficulty protecting their interests than they would as
shareholders of a U.S. corporation. |
Our corporate affairs are governed by our articles of
incorporation and by the laws and regulations governing Korean
corporations. The rights and responsibilities of our
shareholders and members of our board of directors under Korean
law may be different from those that apply to shareholders and
directors of a U.S. corporation. For example, minority
shareholder rights afforded under Korean law often require the
minority shareholder to meet minimum shareholding requirements
in order to exercise certain rights. Under applicable Korean
law, a shareholder must own at least (i) one percent of the
total issued shares to bring a shareholders derivative
lawsuit, (ii) three percent to demand an extraordinary
meeting of shareholders, demand removal of directors or inspect
the books and related documents of a company, (iii) ten
percent to apply to the court for dissolution if there is gross
improper management or a deadlock in corporate affairs likely to
result in significant and irreparable injury to the company or
to apply to the court for reorganization in the case of an
insolvency and (iv) 20 percent to block a share
exchange approved only by a board resolution. In addition, while
the facts and circumstances of each case will differ, the duty
of care required of a director under Korean law may not be the
same as the fiduciary duty of a director of a
U.S. corporation. Although the concept of business
judgment rule exists in Korea, there is insufficient case
law or precedent to provide guidance to the management and
shareholders as to how it should be applied or interpreted in a
particular circumstance. Holders of our ADSs may have more
difficulty protecting their interests against actions of our
management, members of our board of directors or controlling
shareholder than they would as shareholders of a
U.S. corporation.
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Any dividends paid on our common shares will be in the
Korean Won and fluctuations in the exchange rate between the Won
and the U.S. dollar may affect the amount received by
you. |
If and when we declare cash dividends, the dividends will be
paid to the depositary for the ADSs in Won and then converted by
the depositary into U.S. dollars in connection with the
deposit agreement. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the
Won and the U.S. dollar will affect, among other things,
the U.S. dollar amounts you will receive from the
depositary as dividends. Holders of ADSs may not receive
dividends if the depositary does not believe it is reasonable or
practicable to do so. In addition, the depositary may collect
certain fees and expenses, at the sole discretion of the
depositary, by billing the holders of ADSs for such charges or
by deducting such charges from one or more cash dividends or
other cash distributions from us to be distributed to the
holders of ADSs.
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Your ability to deposit or withdraw common shares
underlying the ADSs into and from the depositary facility may be
limited, which may adversely affect the value of your
investment. |
Under the terms of our deposit agreement, holders of our common
shares may deposit such shares with the depositarys
custodian in Korea and obtain ADSs, and holders of our ADSs may
surrender the ADSs to the depositary and receive our common
shares. However, to the extent that a deposit of common shares
exceeds the difference between:
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the aggregate number of common shares we have consented to be
deposited for the issuance of ADSs (including deposits in
connection with offerings of ADSs and stock dividends or other
distributions relating to ADSs); and |
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the number of common shares on deposit with the custodian for
the benefit of the depositary at the time of such proposed
deposit, |
such common shares will not be accepted for deposit unless
(i) our consent with respect to such deposit has been
obtained or (ii) such consent is no longer required under
Korean laws and regulations or under the terms of the deposit
agreement.
Under the terms of the deposit agreement, no consent is required
if the common shares are obtained through a dividend, free
distribution, rights offering or reclassification of such
shares. Under the terms of the deposit agreement, we have
consented to any deposit, provided that such deposit may be made
only after 180 days from February 8, 2005, the date of
our initial offering, to the extent that, after the deposit, the
aggregate number of deposited common shares does not exceed
3,552,229 common shares (including common shares sold in the
form of ADSs), or any greater number of common shares we
determine from time to time (i.e., as a result of a subsequent
offering, stock dividend or rights offer), unless the deposit is
prohibited by applicable laws or violates our articles of
incorporation; provided, however, that if the over-allotment
option granted to the underwriters is exercised or in the case
of any subsequent offer by us or our affiliates, the limit on
the number of common shares on deposit shall not apply to such
over-allotment or offer and the number of common shares issued,
delivered or sold pursuant to the over-allotment or offer
(including common shares in the form of ADSs) shall be eligible
for deposit under the deposit agreement, except to the extent
such deposit is prohibited by applicable laws or violates our
articles of incorporation, or, in the case of any subsequent
offer by us or our affiliates, we determine with the depositary
to limit the number of common shares so offered that would be
eligible for deposit under the deposit agreement in order to
maintain liquidity of the shares in Korea as may be requested by
the relevant Korean authorities. We might not consent to the
deposit of any additional common shares. As a result, if a
holder surrenders ADSs and withdraws common shares, it may not
be able to deposit the common shares again to obtain ADSs.
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You may not be able to exercise preemptive rights or
participate in rights offerings and may experience dilution of
your holdings. |
The Korean Commercial Code and our articles of incorporation
require us to offer shareholders the right to subscribe for new
common shares in proportion to their existing ownership
percentages whenever new common shares are issued, except under
certain circumstances as provided in our articles of
incorporation.
Such exceptions include offering of new shares:
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through a general public offering, |
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to the members of the employee stock ownership association, |
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upon exercise of a stock option, |
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in the form of depositary receipts, |
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|
to induce foreign direct investment necessary for business in
accordance with the Foreign Investment Promotion Act of Korea, |
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|
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for the purpose of raising funds on an emergency basis, |
19
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|
as necessary for the inducement of technology, to certain
companies under an alliance arrangement with us, or |
|
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|
by a public offering or subscribed for by the underwriters for
the purpose of listing on the Korean public stock markets. |
Accordingly, if we issue new shares to non-shareholders based on
such exception, a holder of our ADSs will be diluted. If none of
the above exemptions is available under Korean law, we may be
required to grant subscription rights when issuing additional
common shares. However, under U.S. law, we would not be
able to make those rights available in the United States unless
we register the securities to which the rights relate or an
exemption from the registration requirements of the
U.S. Securities Act is available. Under the deposit
agreement governing the ADSs, if we offer rights to subscribe
for additional common shares, the depositary under the deposit
agreement, after consultation with us, may make such rights
available to you or dispose of such rights on behalf of you and
make the net proceeds available to you or, if the depositary is
unable to take such actions, it may allow the rights to lapse
with no consideration to be received by you. The depositary is
generally not required to make available any rights under any
circumstances. We are under no obligation to file a registration
statement under the Securities Act to enable you to exercise
preemptive rights in respect of the common shares underlying the
ADSs, and we cannot assure you that any registration statement
would be filed or that an exemption from the registration
requirement under the Securities Act would be available.
Accordingly, you may not be entitled to exercise preemptive
rights and may thereby suffer dilution of your interests in us.
|
|
|
You will not be treated as our shareholder and you will
not have shareholder rights such as the voting rights of a
holder of common shares. |
As an ADS holder, we will not treat you as one of our
shareholders and you will not have the rights of a shareholder.
Korean law governs shareholder rights. The depositary will be
the shareholder of the common shares underlying your ADSs. As a
holder of ADSs, you will have ADS holder rights. A deposit
agreement among us, the depositary and you, as an ADS holder,
sets out ADS holder rights as well as the rights and obligations
of the depositary. New York law governs the deposit agreement
and the ADSs. Upon receipt of the necessary voting materials,
you may instruct the depositary to vote the number of shares
your ADSs represent. The depositary will notify you of
shareholders meetings and arrange to deliver our voting
materials to you only when we deliver them to the depositary
with sufficient time under the terms of the deposit agreement.
If there is a delay, we cannot ensure that you will receive
voting materials or otherwise learn of an upcoming
shareholders meeting in time to ensure that you may
instruct the depositary to vote your shares. In addition, the
depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to
carry out voting instructions or for the manner of carrying out
voting instructions.
|
|
|
You would not be able to exercise dissent and appraisal
rights unless you have withdrawn the underlying common shares
from the depositary facility and become our direct
shareholders. |
In some limited circumstances, including the transfer of the
whole or any significant part of our business, our acquisition
of a part of the business of any other company having a material
effect on our business, our merger or consolidation with another
company, dissenting shareholders have the right to require us to
purchase their shares under Korean law. However, if you hold our
ADSs, you will not be able to exercise such dissent and
appraisal rights unless you have withdrawn the underlying common
shares from the depositary facility and become our direct
shareholder prior to the record date for the shareholders
meeting at which the relevant transaction is to be approved.
|
|
|
We may amend the deposit agreement and the ADRs without
your consent for any reason and, if you disagree, your option
will be limited to selling the ADSs or withdrawing the
underlying securities. |
We may agree with the depositary to amend the deposit agreement
and the American depositary receipts, or ADRs, without your
consent for any reason. If an amendment adds or increases fees
or charges, except for taxes and other governmental charges or
expenses of the depositary, for registration fees, facsimile
costs, delivery charges or similar items, or prejudices a
substantial right of ADS holders, it will not become effective
for outstanding ADRs until 30 days after the depositary
notifies ADS holders of the amendment. At the time an amendment
becomes effective, you are considered, by continuing to hold
your ADSs, to agree to the amendment and to be bound by the ADRs
and the deposit agreement as amended. If you do not agree with
an amendment to
20
the deposit agreement or the ADRs, your option is limited to
selling the ADSs or withdrawing the underlying securities. No
assurance can be given that the sale of ADSs would be made at a
price satisfactory to you in such circumstances. In addition, as
of the date hereof, the common shares underlying the ADSs are
not listed on any stock exchange in Korea. Your ability to sell
the underlying common shares following withdrawal and the
liquidity of the common shares may be limited.
|
|
|
You may be subject to Korean withholding tax. |
Under Korean tax law, if you are a U.S. investor, you may
be subject to Korean withholding taxes on capital gains and
dividends in respect of the ADSs unless an exemption or a
reduction under the income tax treaty between the United States
and Korea is available. Under the United States-Korea tax
treaty, capital gains realized by holders that are residents of
the United States eligible for treaty benefits will not be
subject to Korean taxation upon the disposition of the ADSs.
However, under the United States-Korea income tax treaty, the
following holders are not eligible for such tax treaty benefits:
(i) in case the holder is a United States corporation, if
by reason of any special measures, the tax imposed on such
holder by the United States with respect to such capital gains
is substantially less than the tax generally imposed by the
United States on corporate profits, and 25% or more of the
holders capital is held of record or is otherwise
determined, after consultation between competent authorities of
the United States and Korea, to be owned directly or indirectly
by one or more persons who are not individual residents of the
United States and (ii) in case the holder is an individual,
if such holder maintains a fixed base in Korea for a period or
periods aggregating 183 days or more during the taxable
year and the holders ADSs or common shares giving rise to
capital gains are effectively connected with such fixed base or
such holder is present in Korea for a period or periods of
183 days or more during the taxable year.
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|
|
You may have difficulty bringing an original action or
enforcing any judgment obtained outside Korea against us, our
directors and officers or other offering participants, such as
underwriters or experts, who are not U.S. persons. |
We are organized under the law of Korea, and all of our
directors and officers reside in Korea. All or a significant
portion of our assets and the assets of such persons are located
outside of the United States. As a result, it may not be
possible for you to effect service of process within the United
States upon these persons or to enforce against them or us court
judgments obtained in the United States that are predicated upon
the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of
the United States or of the securities laws of any state of the
United States. We have, however, irrevocably appointed an agent
in New York to receive service of process in any proceedings in
the State of New York relating to our ADSs. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, there is doubt as to the enforceability in Korea,
either in original actions or in actions for enforcement of
judgments of United States courts, of civil liabilities
predicated on the federal securities laws of the United States
or the securities laws of any state of the United States.
21
|
|
ITEM 4. |
INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY |
4.A. History and Development of
the Company
History and Development of the Company
We were incorporated as a company with limited liability under
Korean law on April 4, 2000 under the legal name of GRAVITY
Co., Ltd. In August 2002, we commercially launched Ragnarok
Online, our first online game, in Korea. In 2002, 2003 and 2004,
we made capital expenditures of W2.2 billion,
W4.8 billion and W12.3 billion, respectively. In March
2003, we established GRAVITY Interactive, LLC, our wholly-owned
subsidiary in the United States. In January 2004, we acquired
50% of the voting shares of GRAVITY Entertainment Corporation,
formerly RO Production Co., Ltd., our subsidiary in Japan. In
October 2004, we obtained from GungHo Online Entertainment Inc.,
then the other 50% shareholder of RO Production, their ownership
interest in RO Production, which made GRAVITY Entertainment our
wholly-owned subsidiary. RO Production changed its corporate
name to GRAVITY Entertainment Corporation on February 5,
2005. In May 2005, we have entered into share purchase
agreements to purchase an aggregate of 88% equity interest in
Trigger Soft Corporation, which develops our R.O.S.E. Online
game.
Capital Expenditures
This table below sets forth for each year in the three-year
period ending December 31, 2004 the amounts of capital
expenditures (including capitalized interest) for purchases of
property and equipment:
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2002 | |
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2003 | |
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2004 | |
| |
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| |
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| |
(in billions of Won) | |
|
W2.2 |
|
|
|
W4.8 |
|
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|
W12.3 |
|
4.B. Business Overview
Overview
We are a leading developer and distributor of online games in
Japan, Taiwan and Thailand based on the number of peak
concurrent users. We are based in Korea and our principal
product, Ragnarok Online, is currently commercially offered in
20 markets, including Korea. Ragnarok Online recorded over
760,000 aggregate peak concurrent users and over 450,000 average
concurrent users in the fourth quarter of 2004, and over 780,000
aggregate peak concurrent users and over 500,000 average
concurrent users in the first quarter of 2005. We also offer a
number of mobile games and license the merchandizing of
characters-related products based on our online games. We intend
to diversify our online game offering by developing online games
internally and publishing additional online games developed by
third parties. We also participated in the production of a
televised animation series and intend to create other animation
products for international distribution in the future.
Except Korea, the United States and Canada, in all the countries
in which Ragnarok Online is distributed, our overseas licensees
handle marketing, operation, billing and customer service in
consultation with us. Our license agreements generally have a
term of two years. We rely, as a significant source of our
revenue, on the initial license fees and the ongoing royalties
from our overseas licensees. The ongoing royalties are based on
a percentage of revenues generated by our overseas licensees
from the subscription to Ragnarok Online in their respective
markets. In Korea, we directly handle game operations while in
the United States and Canada, our wholly-owned subsidiary,
GRAVITY Interactive LLC, handles the operation.
22
The graphs below illustrate, on a quarterly basis, the growth of
aggregate peak concurrent users and average concurrent users of
Ragnarok Online since August 1, 2002, the date it was
commercially launched, on a combined basis as well as in each of
our major markets.
Aggregate peak concurrent users(1) of Ragnarok Online per
quarter in all markets
Average concurrent users(2) of Ragnarok Online per quarter in
all major markets
23
Peak concurrent users(1)(3) of Ragnarok Online per quarter in
Taiwan and
Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, China, Korea and USA
Average concurrent users(2)(3) of Ragnarok Online per
quarter
in Taiwan and Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, China and Korea
Notes:
|
|
(1) |
The number of peak concurrent users in a given period for a
country in which Ragnarok Online is commercially offered
represents the highest number of users simultaneously logged on
to our games servers |
24
|
|
|
during that period in that country. The aggregate monthly number
of peak concurrent users is computed by adding the number of
peak concurrent users for a given month in all of the countries
in which Ragnarok Online is commercially offered. The aggregate
number of peak concurrent users for any longer period represents
the highest aggregate monthly peak concurrent user number within
that given period. The number of peak concurrent users in a
country (or in the case of Taiwan and Hong Kong, Malaysia and
Singapore, or Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Turkey,
in such group of countries) is determined on the basis of
computer-generated data that shows the number of concurrent
users for such country or group of countries, as applicable, at
generally one-minute intervals. Within a given month, due to
time differences and other factors, the exact point in time at
which the peak number of concurrent users is reached may differ
from country to country. |
|
|
(2) |
The number of average concurrent Ragnarok Online users in a
given period represents the sum of the average number of
concurrent users for that period in Korea, Japan, Taiwan/ Hong
Kong, Thailand and China, the five key markets, in terms of
revenue contribution from Ragnarok Online, in which it is
commercially offered. The number of average concurrent users in
a given period is computed by adding the monthly average number
of concurrent users and dividing the total by the number of
months in the same period. The monthly average number of
concurrent users is computed by adding the daily average number
of concurrent users during a given month and dividing the total
by the actual number of days in that month. The daily average
number of concurrent users is generally computed by adding the
number of concurrent users selected in three-hour intervals (for
example, the number of concurrent users at 12:00 am,
3:00 am, 6:00 am, 9:00 am, 12:00 pm,
3:00 pm, 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm on a given day) and
dividing it by eight. In certain limited situations, for
example, when our servers are down for maintenance or updates or
when our monitoring server fails to maintain connection to our
game servers, the number of our concurrent users at such time
will appear as zero. We have adjusted the daily
average number of concurrent users to remove this information
from our computation. Within a given period, due to time
differences and other factors, the exact points in time used to
calculate the average number of concurrent users may differ from
country to country. |
|
(3) |
We believe that the number of users simultaneously logged on in
a given country provides meaningful information about our
relative industry position in that country because the number of
users simultaneously logged on to our game servers
(i) represents a key online game industry benchmark,
(ii) is reflective of our active customer base, and
(iii) co-relates generally to revenues received for that
game. |
The following table sets forth a breakdown of our revenues,
including a country-by-country breakdown of our subscription
revenues and royalties and license fees.
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|
Year Ended December 31, | |
|
|
| |
|
|
2002 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
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| |
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| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Won and thousands of US$, except percentages) | |
Ragnarok Online revenues:
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Subscriptions:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Korea
|
|
W |
7,173 |
|
|
|
73.1 |
% |
|
W |
16,186 |
|
|
US$ |
15,638 |
|
|
|
38.1 |
% |
|
W |
12,725 |
|
|
US$ |
12,293 |
|
|
|
19.7 |
% |
|
|
United States(1)
|
|
|
137 |
|
|
|
1.4 |
|
|
|
2,374 |
|
|
|
2,292 |
|
|
|
5.7 |
|
|
|
3,528 |
|
|
|
3,408 |
|
|
|
5.5 |
|
|
Royalties and license fees:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Japan
|
|
|
826 |
|
|
|
8.4 |
|
|
|
9,008 |
|
|
|
8,703 |
|
|
|
21.2 |
|
|
|
16,818 |
|
|
|
16,248 |
|
|
|
26.1 |
|
|
|
Taiwan
|
|
|
1,253 |
|
|
|
12.8 |
|
|
|
8,526 |
|
|
|
8,237 |
|
|
|
20.1 |
|
|
|
14,233 |
|
|
|
13,750 |
|
|
|
22.1 |
|
|
|
Thailand
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,593 |
|
|
|
2,505 |
|
|
|
6.1 |
|
|
|
5,274 |
|
|
|
5,095 |
|
|
|
8.2 |
|
|
|
China
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,800 |
|
|
|
1,739 |
|
|
|
4.2 |
|
|
|
2,655 |
|
|
|
2,565 |
|
|
|
4.1 |
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Others
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|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
877 |
|
|
|
847 |
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2.1 |
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|
|
5,256 |
|
|
|
5,078 |
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|
|
8.2 |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
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|
|
|
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Sub-total
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2,079 |
|
|
|
21.2 |
|
|
|
22,804 |
|
|
|
22,031 |
|
|
|
53.7 |
|
|
|
44,236 |
|
|
|
42,736 |
|
|
|
68.7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
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Mobile games:
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|
|
|
|
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|
|
43 |
|
|
|
42 |
|
|
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0.1 |
|
|
|
480 |
|
|
|
464 |
|
|
|
0.7 |
|
Character merchandising and other revenue:
|
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|
427 |
|
|
|
4.3 |
|
|
|
1,024 |
|
|
|
989 |
|
|
|
2.4 |
|
|
|
3,471 |
|
|
|
3,353 |
|
|
|
5.4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Total revenues
|
|
W |
9,816 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
W |
42,431 |
|
|
US$ |
40,992 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
W |
64,440 |
|
|
US$ |
62,255 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note:
|
|
(1) |
Includes subscriptions from Canada. |
25
Strategy
Our key strategic objective is to strengthen our competitive
position and to be a leading developer and publisher of online
games with a broad product offering and presence in multiple
markets. Our business strategy consists principally of the
following elements:
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|
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Maintain and strengthen our competitive position in online
games |
We aim to maintain and strengthen the competitive position of
our online games by continuing to upgrade game content and
quality to satisfy user expectations. We, along with our
overseas licensees, will continue to conduct marketing campaigns
and online in-game events to increase the loyalty and playing
time of our existing user and attract new users. We also plan to
expand our game community by developing attractive community
features and tools to enhance user interaction and loyalty. For
instance, we plan to further update and enhance the content of
our principal product, Ragnarok Online, generally on a quarterly
basis. We also believe that our acquisition of the controlling
ownership of Trigger Soft in May 2005 will enhance our ability
to update and improve R.O.S.E. Online more timely and
effectively. In addition, we plan to continue to provide
dedicated customer service and technical support to provide our
users with a stable game playing environment.
|
|
|
Continue to focus on international expansion |
We plan to continue the expansion and penetration of our
products in new overseas markets. We are currently conducting
open beta testing of Ragnarok Online in India and have entered
into a license agreement to distribute Ragnarok Online in 14
countries in the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, we
have entered into license agreements with operators in Japan,
Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and the Philippines for the
distribution of R.O.S.E. Online. We plan to maintain our
existing relationships with online game operators in overseas
markets and take advantage of our relationships to distribute
other products and/ or obtain more favorable contractual terms.
We also intend to focus on the operations of our overseas
subsidiaries in Japan and the U.S. to enhance our presence
in these key markets. We believe that further geographic
diversification will contribute to the growth and stabilization
of our revenue streams. As we evaluate our license agreements in
these markets, we may selectively choose to operate directly in
certain markets through our subsidiaries.
|
|
|
Enhance development of proprietary games and publication
of licensed games |
We intend to offer a broader and more sophisticated game
offering by developing and procuring additional games. We will
continue to devote significant resources to the in-house
development of our own games by hiring new talented development
staff to augment our game development capabilities and to make
additional investments in new technologies. We are currently
developing Requiem and Ragnarok Online 2 and expect to
commercialize Requiem by the first half of 2006 and commence
open beta testing of Ragnarok Online 2 in 2006,
respectively.
Separately, we will also continue to focus on publishing online
games licensed from third party developers by taking advantage
of our strong game distribution capability. For example, in June
2005, we entered into an agreement with Sonnori Co., Ltd, a
third-party game developer, to publish, market and offer a
casual game portal, STYLIA. Under this agreement, we have the
rights to publish games on STYLIA for five years in the overseas
markets and for six months in Korea.
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|
|
Taking advantage of our current products for revenue
diversification and growth |
In order to continually diversify our revenue base, we intend to
take advantage of our current products to expand into other
related businesses, including mobile games, animation and game
character-based merchandise businesses. We offer mobile games in
Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines, based on game content
that is derived from Ragnarok Online. We currently have an
established mobile game business with nine active games and
generated revenue of W480 million (US$464 thousand) from
mobile games in 2004.
26
Our products
We currently have four product lines: massively multiplayer
online role playing games, mobile games, animation and
character-based merchandise. Revenues from our principal
product, Ragnarok Online, accounted for 97.5% of our revenue in
2003 and 93.9% of our revenue in 2004. We are seeking to
diversify our revenue sources by offering additional massively
multiplayer online role playing games and other products and
services, including mobile games.
|
|
|
Massively multiplayer online role playing games |
Until recently, we commercially offered one massively
multiplayer online role playing game, Ragnarok Online. In
January 2005, we commercially launched another massively
multiplayer online role playing game, R.O.S.E. Online. In
addition, we are internally developing two other massively
multiplayer online role playing games, Requiem and Ragnarok
Online 2.
To prepare for the commercial launch of a new game, we conduct
closed beta testing for the game to eliminate
technical problems, which is followed by open beta
testing in which we allow registered users to play the
game free of charge. During these testing periods, users provide
us with feedback and our technical team addresses any technical
problems and programming flaws that may compromise a stable and
consistent game environment.
A prospective user of our massively multiplayer online role
playing games must first apply online to register as a member of
a games online community by setting up a user account and
password. After becoming a registered member, the user can
download free of charge the user-end software from the game
website. Once the game is officially downloaded, users must
prepay to play our massively multiplayer online role playing
games except during an open-beta testing period.
The following table summarizes the massively multiplayer online
role playing games that we are either currently offering or in
the process of developing.
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Massively multiplayer |
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online role playing game |
|
Description |
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Game source |
|
Date of commercial launch/testing |
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|
|
Ragnarok Online
|
|
Action adventure with 99 levels of skill upgrades, which
features two-dimensional characters in three-dimensional
backgrounds(1) |
|
In-house developed |
|
Commercial launch in August 2002 |
R.O.S.E. Online
|
|
Three-dimensional action adventure with seven independent
storylines |
|
Licensed from third party developer |
|
Commercial launch in January 2005 |
Requiem
|
|
Three-dimensional action adventure |
|
In-house developed |
|
Currently in development with open beta testing with
commercialization planned in the first half of 2006 |
Ragnarok Online 2
|
|
Three-dimensional sequel to Ragnarok Online |
|
In-house developed |
|
Currently in development with open beta testing planned in 2006 |
Note:
|
|
(1) |
A game with such features is typically referred to as a 2.5
dimensional game. |
|
|
|
Massively multiplayer online role playing games currently
offered |
In developing Ragnarok Online, we obtained an exclusive license
from Mr. Myoung-Jin Lee to use the storyline and characters
from his cartoon titled Ragnarok for the production
of online games, animation and
27
character merchandising. In return, we paid Mr. Lee an
initial license fee of W40 million and are required to pay
royalties based on a percentage of adjusted revenues (net of
value-added taxes and certain other expenses) or net income
generated from the use of the Ragnarok brand, including the
operation or licensing of Ragnarok Online. This agreement
expires in January 2033.
Ragnarok Online is an action adventure-based massively
multiplayer online role playing game that combines cartoon-like
characters, community-oriented themes and combat features in a
virtual world within which thousands of players can interact
with one another. Unlike games offered by many of our
competitors, Ragnarok Online features cute, fantasy-based
characters and is not centered around sexual and violent
content. Furthermore, we believe that the highly interactive and
community-oriented nature of Ragnarok Online, such as marriages
and organization of guilds in cyberspace, are important to users
who appreciate social interaction in a virtual setting.
Other key features of Ragnarok Online include the following:
|
|
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|
|
players may assume an ongoing role, or alter-ego, of a
particular game character, each with different strengths and
weaknesses. In Ragnarok Online, the user starts as a
novice and undergoes training in a specialized
mapped game zone to become familiar with the game features. Once
that stage is completed, the user can choose from six basic
characters, each with a distinct combination of different traits; |
|
|
|
as each game character advances in challenge levels, the
character can enter into a greater range of mapped game zones
and morph into a more sophisticated game character in terms of
game attributes and special powers; |
|
|
|
Ragnarok Online characters may visually express the users
mood and emotions by using emotive icons that appear within a
bubble above the characters heads. We believe that this
feature significantly expands the interface for user interaction
and elevates the level of social reality of the game; |
|
|
|
game features may be traded or sold within the game, and game
characters may simulate real-life experiences such as marriage,
group fights and joining a guild. In addition, players may
communicate with each other through in-game chatting or instant
messaging; |
|
|
|
special events are held from time to time to stimulate community
formations. For example, we periodically host fortress
raids for which players are encouraged to organize
themselves into a team to compete against other teams to capture
a fortress within a set time; and |
|
|
|
the game has no preordained ending and is designed to
continuously evolve in terms of plots, mapped game zones and
character attributes through enhancements from time to time. |
We believe Ragnarok Online is popular across broad demographic
segments. For example, Ragnarok Online carries strong appeal
among female as well as male users. The male-to-female ratio of
the Ragnarok Online users, as of December 31, 2004, was
approximately 66:34 in Korea. We believe that a significantly
higher percentage of male users play our competitors
games. We believe this trend is generally consistent in our
overseas markets.
We believe that the personal computer, or PC, configurations
required to run Ragnarok Online are lower than or on par with
many other competing massively multiplayer online role playing
games, which we believe has facilitated our successful entry
into and continued expansion of Ragnarok Online in many of the
developing countries in which Ragnarok Online is distributed. As
we were developing and preparing to launch Ragnarok Online in
Korea and overseas markets, we carefully balanced perceived
demand for sophisticated three-dimensional graphics with
prevailing computer processing and graphics capabilities in such
markets. Based on these considerations, we opted to launch
Ragnarok Online based on a combination of two-dimensional
characters with a three-dimensional background, which would
require lower PC configurations than three-dimensional massively
multiplayer online role playing games. The recommended minimum
PC configuration for Ragnarok Online is a CPU of
Pentium III 1.6 GHz, 256 MB RAM and a
32 MB graphic card. Ragnarok Online can be accessed through
a dial-up modem as well as broadband Internet.
We commenced open beta testing of our second massively
multiplayer online role playing game, R.O.S.E. Online, in
September 2004 and commercially launched it in January 2005.
R.O.S.E. Online, a three-dimensional game, is the first online
game developed by a third party that we published pursuant to an
exclusive publishing
28
license agreement. R.O.S.E. Online was developed by Trigger Soft
Corporation, a Korean game developer with nearly ten years of
experience in PC game development, in close coordination with
our in-house game development team. The term of our exclusive
publishing license under this agreement is for a five year
period beginning in October 2003. Under this agreement, we have
a right to sublicense R.O.S.E. Online to third parties,
including our overseas licensees. In addition, we have a right
to participate in the development or licensing of the games
which will be developed by Trigger Soft. Of the seven episodes
to be introduced for R.O.S.E. Online, three episodes are
currently available and the remaining four episodes are expected
to be added over time. In May 2005, we acquired the controlling
ownership of Trigger Soft, which we believe will enhance our
ability to update and improve R.O.S.E. Online more timely and
effectively. In January and February 2005, we entered into
arrangements with three licensees to distribute R.O.S.E. Online
in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and the Philippines. In
addition, in June 2005, we entered into an arrangement with a
licensee in Europe to distribute R.O.S.E. Online to the
following 17 countries in Europe; United Kingdom, Norway,
Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Iceland, Gibraltar, Greece,
Turkey, Cyprus, Malta, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland,
Denmark and Luxemburg.
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|
|
Massively multiplayer online role playing games to be
offered in the future |
We are currently developing Requiem and plan to commercialize it
in the first half of 2006. Unlike Ragnarok Online, we are
designing Requiem to prominently feature user-to-user combat. In
addition, we are using advanced game development engines for
enhanced graphics and to capture the games speedy and
streamlined action movements.
We are currently developing Ragnarok Online 2 as a sequel to
Ragnarok Online. We plan to commence its open beta testing in
2006. While the distinguishing features of Ragnarok Online 2 are
still under consideration, we expect that it will continue in
the tradition of the original Ragnarok Online, but in a more
dynamic three-dimensional format.
Our mobile games
As compared to massively multiplayer online role playing games,
mobile games, which are played using mobile phones and other
mobile devices, are easily playable and have shorter game
playtime. Mobile games, due to such characteristics, provide
less-experienced users with a means to become familiar with both
game playing and the online game culture without making
substantial commitments in terms of time and resources. As a
result, we believe that mobile games will allow us to target a
broader audience of users, help us expand the online game
culture beyond Internet cafés and users homes and act
as effective marketing tools to attract new users to our
massively multiplayer online role playing games.
We entered into the mobile game business in Korea in 2003. As of
December 31, 2004, we offered nine mobile games in Korea,
which can be played with mobile phones after downloading them
from the mobile game platforms of telecommunications operators.
In Japan and Taiwan, we have entered into agreements to offer
seven mobiles games and currently offer two mobile games with
game content based on Ragnarok Online. In the Philippines, we
have entered into agreements to offer five mobile games and
currently offer two mobile games with game content based on
Ragnarok Online. We are currently negotiating arrangements to
offer our mobile games in several other countries including
Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the United States.
Users typically pay a per-download fee to the mobile
telecommunication operator and then play the game for an
indefinite period of time. We currently derive revenue from
mobile games in the form of per-download fees in Korea. Pursuant
to existing contracts, we expect to derive revenue from mobile
games in the form of license fees and royalties from Japan,
Taiwan and the Philippines. In Korea, the mobile
telecommunications operators remit to us 81% to 86% of the
download fees (net of charges). In 2004, our mobile games were
downloaded approximately 300,000 times and generated
W480 million (US$464 thousand) in revenues.
29
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Our game-related products and services |
GRAVITY Entertainment, our Japanese subsidiary, entered into an
agreement with G&G Entertainment INC. and three other
Japanese media and entertainment companies for the production
and distribution of 26 half-hour episode animation series based
on the storyline and characters of our online game Ragnarok
Online licensed from us. The series was broadcast on television
in Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. The series has
also been exported to China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand,
Malaysia and Singapore. We intend to expand the distribution of
Ragnarok animation to other countries in North and South
America, Europe and elsewhere in which Ragnarok Online is in
service and create other animation products for international
distribution. In addition to the potential revenue generated
from the sale of broadcasting rights, videos, DVDs and Internet
viewing, we believe that our animation products will enhance the
brand recognition of Ragnarok Online and facilitate
cross-selling of other products. Our revenues from our animation
business were W1,093 million (US$1,056 thousand) in
2004.
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Game character merchandising |
In order to take advantage of the commercial opportunities
presented by the popularity generated by our games and game
characters, we and our licensees have begun marketing dolls,
fancy items and other character-based merchandise, as well as
game manuals, monthly magazines and other publications, based on
Ragnarok Online characters. We market the merchandise mostly
through convenience stores where, in China and many Southeast
Asian countries, pre-paid game cards for our games are sold.
We have entered into arrangements with seven Korean vendors and
five overseas vendors to license Ragnaroks animation
characters in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, the
Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. In 2004, the
total amount of licensing fees from our contracts with Korean
vendors was approximately W230 million and the total amount
of licensing fees from our contracts with overseas vendors was
approximately W1,577 million. We intend to expand our
character marketing to other countries in Asia, North America
and Europe.
Our markets
In 2003, revenues generated from Ragnarok Online in Korea
accounted for 38.8% of our total revenues while 61.2% of our
revenues were generated from Ragnarok Online in overseas
markets. In 2004, approximately 79.0% of our revenues were
generated from our overseas markets.
In Korea, we commercially launched Ragnarok Online and began to
charge subscribers to play the game in August 2002. Our Ragnarok
Online subscribers in Korea consist of individual PC account
subscribers and Internet café subscribers. Individual PC
account subscribers are individuals who log on to our game
servers from places other than Internet cafés, such as from
home or work, whereas Internet café subscribers are
commercial businesses operating Internet café outlets
equipped with multiple PCs that provide Internet access to their
customers. Most Internet cafés charge their customers PC
usage and Internet access fees that generally range from W500 to
W1,500 per hour and subscribe to various online games. As
of December 31, 2004, we had over 8,000 Internet cafés
offering Ragnarok Online in Korea. In order to offer Ragnarok
Online, an Internet café typically purchase from us minimum
game hours. In 2004, the subscription collected from Internet
cafés accounted for 15.9% of our subscription revenues in
Korea.
According to the 2004 Korea Game White Paper, the number of
Internet cafés in Korea, estimated at approximately 21,000
as of December 31, 2003, has not increased since 2000 and
declined in 2003. However, the number of PCs in those cafes
increased approximately 10% in 2003 to more than one million PCs
at the end of 2004. Furthermore, according to data published by
KGDI, over 70% of the PCs in those Internet cafés are
capable of supporting games that require a random access memory
of 512 megabytes or more and are therefore suitable for
most three-dimensional online games. Therefore, we expect that
Internet cafés will continue to serve as an attractive
location for serious online game users.
30
Currently, we commercially offer Ragnarok Online in 19 overseas
markets: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, China, United States, Canada,
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia,
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, New
Zealand and Brazil. Through our licensees, we are currently
conducting open beta testing for Ragnarok Online in India and
closed beta test of Ragnarok Online in Russia. In addition, we
currently plan to conduct closed beta testing of Ragnarok Online
in the following 15 countries; Vietnam, United Arab Emirates,
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Iraq, Syria,
Egypt, Iran, Israel, Lebanon and Jordan. In most of these
countries, Ragnarok Online is distributed through local game
operators and distributors. In 2004, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand,
the United States and China were our five largest overseas
markets based on revenue contribution from Ragnarok Online and
the number of peak concurrent Ragnarok Online users.
The following table lists the countries in which we commercially
offer Ragnarok Online, our licensees, the dates of license
agreements, commercial launch and expiry of the license
agreements.
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|
Date of license |
|
Date of |
|
|
Country |
|
Licensee |
|
agreement |
|
commercial launch |
|
Date of expiry |
|
|
|
|
|
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|
Japan
|
|
GungHo Online Entertainment Inc. |
|
July 2002 |
|
December 2002 |
|
August 2006(1) |
Taiwan/ Hong Kong(2)
|
|
Soft-World International |
|
May 2002 |
|
October 2002 |
|
October 2006(3) |
Thailand
|
|
Asiasoft International Company Ltd. |
|
June 2002 |
|
March 2003 |
|
March 2007(4) |
China
|
|
Value Central Corporation(5) |
|
October 2002 |
|
May 2003 |
|
August 2005(6) |
Singapore/ Malaysia(2)
|
|
Value Central Corporation(7) |
|
May 2003 |
|
April 2004 |
|
April 2006 |
Philippines
|
|
Level Up! Inc. |
|
March 2003 |
|
September 2003 |
|
August 2006(8) |
Indonesia
|
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PT. Lyto Datarindo Fortuna(9) |
|
February 2003 |
|
November 2003 |
|
February 2007(10) |
Europe(11)
|
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Burda Holdings International GmbH |
|
November 2003 |
|
April 2004 |
|
April 2006 |
Australia/ New Zealand
|
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Ongamenet PTY LTD. |
|
July 16, 2004 |
|
December 2004 |
|
November 2006 |
Brazil
|
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Level Up! Interactive S.A. |
|
August 15, 2004 |
|
February 2005 |
|
February 2007 |
Notes:
|
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|
(1) |
Renewed in September 2004. |
|
|
(2) |
Governed under a single license agreement covering both markets. |
|
|
(3) |
Renewed in October 2004. |
|
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(4) |
Renewed in October 2004. |
|
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(5) |
Wholly-owned subsidiary of Soft-World International which offers
and operates Ragnarok Online through Gameflier (Beijing) Co.,
Ltd., another subsidiary of Soft-World International, and is
operating Ragnarok Online in China through cooperation
arrangements with local companies. |
|
|
(6) |
Term extended in May 2005 for three additional months. |
|
|
(7) |
Wholly-owned subsidiary of Soft-World International. |
|
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(8) |
Renewed in February 2005. |
|
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(9) |
Previously with a different licensee. |
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(10) |
Renewed in October 2004. |
|
(11) |
Represents massively multiplayer online role playing game
operations in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Turkey. A
single operator services these five countries under one license
agreement. |
31
As consideration for allowing our overseas licensees to operate
and distribute our games, we receive the following:
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an initial license fee for initial set-up costs, technical
support and advisory services that we provide until commercial
launch, and |
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ongoing royalty payments based on a percentage of revenues
generated from Ragnarok Online subscription in the respective
overseas markets. |
In addition, if the license agreement is renewed, we typically
negotiate a renewal license fee. The license agreements may be
terminated in the event of bankruptcy or a material breach by
either party, including, in our case, the licensees
failure to pay royalty fees in a timely manner.
Pricing
Our overseas licensees generally develop, after consultation
with us, a retail pricing structure for the Ragnarok Online
users in their respective markets. Pricing structures are
determined primarily based on the cost of publishing and
operating the game, the playing and payment patterns of the
users, the pricing of competing games in a given market and the
purchase power parity of consumers in that market. Since the
launch of Ragnarok Online in August 2002, we have tracked and
accumulated user data generated from our user base, which
provide us with an extensive database to analyze user patterns
and establish pricing for other markets. Due to competitive
pressure and in line with market practice, we and our licensees
have not raised prices for Ragnarok Online following its
commercial launch in a country. The pricing for Ragnarok Online
has remained generally stable in each of our markets since the
respective date of Ragnarok Onlines commercial launch in
those markets.
In Korea, we determine the pricing plan for Ragnarok Online. We
offer separate pricing plans to Internet cafés and
individual PC account subscribers. Our subscribers have an
option to pay an hourly fee or a monthly flat fee. The following
table sets forth our pricing plans in Korea for Ragnarok Online
access as of December 31, 2004.
|
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Subscription fees | |
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| |
Individual PC users
|
|
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|
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Flat-fee rate
|
|
|
One month |
|
|
W |
22,000 |
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|
|
|
Two months |
|
|
|
41,800 |
|
|
|
|
Three months |
|
|
|
59,400 |
|
|
Hourly-fee rate
|
|
|
5 hours |
|
|
|
3,300 |
|
|
|
|
20 hours |
|
|
|
8,800 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of PCs | |
|
Flat fee per PC | |
|
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| |
|
| |
Internet cafés(1)
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Monthly flat-fee
|
|
|
1-4 PCs |
|
|
W |
33,000 |
|
|
|
|
5-10 PCs |
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|
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31,350 |
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|
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11-20 PCs |
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|
|
30,250 |
|
|
|
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21-30 PCs |
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|
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29,700 |
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|
|
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over 30 PCs |
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|
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28,700 |
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Hourly-fee rate
|
|
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300 hours |
|
|
|
77,000 |
|
|
|
|
600 hours |
|
|
|
154,000 |
|
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|
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1,000 hours |
|
|
|
238,700 |
|
|
|
|
2,000 hours |
|
|
|
455,400 |
|
Note:
|
|
(1) |
Certain volume discounts apply. |
32
Approximately 84.1% of our revenues from Ragnarok Online in
Korea in 2004 were derived from subscriptions by individual PC
users and the remaining 15.9% was derived from payments from
Internet cafés.
Individual PC subscribers in Korea can choose from a number of
alternative payment options, including online credit card
payments, prepaid cards and charges made through mobile or fixed
telephone service provider payment systems. We pay a commission
in the range of 9% to 13% to third parties to process payments.
These third parties bear the delinquency risk associated with
payments from subscribers.
The pricing for Ragnarok Online in our five largest overseas
markets, Japan, Taiwan, China, Thailand and the United States,
is as follows:
Our licensee in Japan, GungHo Online Entertainment, offers only
one rate for Ragnarok Online and charges ¥1,500, or
US$14.61, per 30 days of use. Users in Japan typically pay
for access to Ragnarok Online with credit cards or cyber money,
which is increasingly becoming a popular payment method in Japan.
Our licensee in Taiwan, Soft-World International, typically does
not offer a separate subscription plan for Internet café
outlets. In Taiwan, most users purchase prepaid debit point
cards for access to Ragnarok Online. The prepaid cards can be
purchased online, by mobile phones or at convenience stores,
Internet cafés and at other locations in Taiwan. Taiwan
also has websites dedicated to selling pre-paid cards for
various uses, including online game payments. Our licensee in
Taiwan currently offers approximately 200 different rates for
Ragnarok Online. The following table sets forth our
licensees basic pricing for Ragnarok Online access in
Taiwan as of December 31, 2004:
|
|
|
|
|
Points(1) or days |
|
Retail price(2) | |
|
|
| |
150 points
|
|
NT$ |
150 |
|
30 days
|
|
|
350 |
|
90 days
|
|
|
950 |
|
Notes:
|
|
(1) |
Each time a user logs onto Ragnarok Online, 20 points are
deducted. After a users playtime exceeds 12 hours,
additional 20 points are deducted for every 12 hours of use. |
|
(2) |
As of December 31, 2004, the noon buying rate of NT dollars
to U.S. dollars quoted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York was NT$31.74 to US$1.00. |
Our licensee in China, Value Central, a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Soft-World International, operates and offers Ragnarok Online
through Gameflier (Beijing) Co., Ltd., its affiliate. Since
neither Value Central nor Gameflier (Beijing) Co., Ltd. holds
the requisite license to engage in online games business in
China, these companies operate Ragnarok Online through
cooperative arrangements with qualified local companies in
China. In China, Ragnarok Online can be accessed through prepaid
cards. The prepaid card system was introduced to take account of
the limited availability of online and credit card payment
systems in China. A majority of Ragnarok Online players purchase
prepaid debit point cards at Internet cafés or retail game
outlets or purchase prepaid online credits by directly settling
at Internet cafés, which in turn purchase online credits
from our China licensee. Each prepaid card contains a network
access password to access Ragnarok Online from a PC at home or
at an Internet café. Ragnarok Online access prices were set
significantly lower in China than in Korea to take into account
the prevailing pricing structure of other online games in the
Chinese market as well as relatively low consumer spending
levels. Our licensee in China currently offers approximately 200
different rates for Ragnarok
33
Online. The following table sets forth our licensees basic
pricing for Ragnarok Online access in China as of
December 31, 2004:
|
|
|
|
|
Points(1) or days |
|
Retail price(2) | |
|
|
| |
150 points
|
|
|
RMB 9 |
|
450 points
|
|
|
30 |
|
30 days
|
|
|
45 |
|
Notes:
|
|
(1) |
Six points are deducted for every hour of use. |
|
(2) |
As of December 31, 2004, the noon buying rate of Renminbi
to U.S. dollars quoted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York was RMB 8.2765 to US$1.00. |
Our licensee in Thailand, Asia Soft International, permits users
to access Ragnarok Online through prepaid cards. Each prepaid
card has a specified maximum number of hours or days of use.
Users can purchase prepaid cards from automated teller machines,
Internet cafés or convenience stores. The following table
sets forth our licensees basic pricing for Ragnarok Online
access in Thailand as of December 31, 2004:
|
|
|
|
|
Hours or Days |
|
Retail Price(1) | |
|
|
| |
10 hours
|
|
|
55 Baht |
|
20 hours
|
|
|
89 |
|
40 hours
|
|
|
159 |
|
15 days
|
|
|
189 |
|
30 days
|
|
|
349 |
|
Note:
|
|
(1) |
As of December 31, 2004, the noon buying rate of Baht to
U.S. dollars quoted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
was Baht 38.800 to US$1.00. |
Our wholly-owned subsidiary in the United States, GRAVITY
Interactive LLC, permits users to access Ragnarok Online through
credit cards, money orders, and wire and/or bank transfers. The
following table sets forth our licensees basic pricing for
Ragnarok Online access in the United States as of
December 31, 2004:
|
|
|
|
|
Hours or month |
|
Retail price | |
|
|
| |
30 hours
|
|
US $ |
7.99 |
|
1 month
|
|
|
12.00 |
|
3 months
|
|
|
32.00 |
|
6 months
|
|
|
57.00 |
|
Game development and publishing
We expect the online game industry to be characterized by
increasing demand for sophisticated games with higher graphics
resolution, better sound quality and more life-like animation.
In response, we intend to expand our game offerings by
continuing to develop additional games in-house and by
publishing new games developed by us or licensed or acquired
from third party developers.
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|
|
In-house game development |
We developed Ragnarok Online in-house. In order to remain
competitive, we are focusing our in-house game development
efforts on enhancing the Ragnarok Online experience and on
developing new massively multiplayer online role playing games
incorporating the latest technologies. We currently have two
massively multiplayer online role playing games, Requiem and
Ragnarok Online 2, under in-house development. Our game
34
development department is divided into three development teams,
each responsible for the massively multiplayer online role
playing games in operation or under development. We also have a
fourth development team dedicated to developing mobile games. As
of December 31, 2004, we employed a total of 191 game
developers.
R.O.S.E. Online was developed by Trigger Soft, then a
third-party Korean game developer with more than ten years of
game developing experience, and is published by us pursuant to
an exclusive publishing license agreement with Trigger Soft.
Under this agreement, we paid Trigger Soft an initial license
fee of W700 million and are obligated to pay ongoing
royalties equal to 25% of domestic, and 50% of overseas,
adjusted revenues (net of value-added taxes and marketing and
certain other expenses) related to R.O.S.E. Online. In May 2005,
we acquired an aggregate of 88% of equity interest in Trigger
Soft to provide more timely and effective updates to and
improvements on R.O.S.E. Online. In line with our product
diversification strategy, we intend to publish more games
developed by third parties.
Our publishing and licensing process includes the following:
|
|
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|
|
Preliminary screening. Our preliminary screening process
for a game typically includes our preliminary review and testing
of the game and discussions with the game developer regarding
technological and operational questions. |
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|
|
In-depth examination, analysis and commercial
negotiation. Once a game passes the preliminary screening,
we thoroughly review and test the game, conduct a cost analysis,
develop operational and financial projections and formulate a
preliminary game operating plan. We then begin commercial
negotiations with the developer. |
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|
|
Game rating and regulatory registration and approval.
Once a license agreement for a game is signed, we submit an
application to the Korea Media Rating Board to obtain a game
rating. This process generally takes anywhere from seven days to
three months. We also typically register our intellectual
property rights with respect to our license agreements with the
relevant Korean government agency. |
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Testing and marketing. Once the required registration and
approvals are obtained, we conduct closed beta testing and open
beta testing of the new game and assist the licensor with
development of the game. Closed beta testing usually takes
6-12 months for massively multiplayer online role playing
games but may take significantly more time if material problems
are detected. Open beta testing of massively multiplayer online
role playing games usually takes three to six months before
commercial launch. We generally commence our other marketing
activities for the game during the open beta testing stage. For
overseas markets, we also localize the language and content of
our games to tailor to the local cultural preferences. |
Marketing
We employ a variety of traditional and online marketing programs
and promotional activities, including in-game events, in-game
marketing and offline events. Due to the close-knit nature of
the online game community, word-of-mouth is an important medium
to the promotion of our games.
In Korea, eight independent promotional agents currently promote
our online games to Internet cafés pursuant to agency
agreements. Under these agreements, each promotional agent is
granted non-exclusive promotion rights within a specified
geographical area. The agent is generally paid a monthly base
commission of 30% of revenues received from Internet cafés
in the allocated area, subject to a performance-based monthly
adjustment of plus or minus 5% of such revenues.
We conduct a variety of marketing programs and online and
offline events to target potential subscribers accessing the
Internet from home. Our main marketing efforts include
advertising on website portals and in online game magazines,
conducting online promotional events, participating in trade
shows and entering into promotional alliances with Internet
service providers. We spent W1,435 million in 2002,
W4,285 million in 2003 and W4,614 million in 2004 on
advertising and promotions.
We frequently organize in-game events, such as fortress
raids for our users, which we believe encourages the
development of virtual communities among our users and increases
user interest in our games. We also host
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from time to time in-game tournaments in which users can compete
against each other either as a team or individually. In
addition, we use in-game events to introduce users to new
features of our games. We organized seven in-game events for
Ragnarok Online users in 2003, and six in-game events in 2004.
In July 2004, we hosted in Korea the Ragnarok World
Championship, an offline competition event, at which more than
200 users from 21 countries convened to compete. The event was
visited by approximately 100,000 visitors and was broadcast over
one of Koreas cable television channels.
In most of our overseas markets, marketing activities are
principally conducted by our overseas licensees and typically
consist of advertising on website game portals and online game
magazines and through television commercials, as well as hosting
online and offline promotional events. From time to time our
licensees also market our games through sponsoring promotional
events jointly with other local game publishers in order to
reach a broader local audience.
Our licensees are selected in part on the basis of their
marketing capabilities, including the size and scope of their
distribution networks. We believe that marketing through our
licensees is more effective and cost-efficient than direct
marketing by us in light of the established brand recognition
and marketing networks of our licensees and their comparative
advantage in identifying and taking advantage of the cultural
and other local preferences of overseas users.
Game support
We are committed to providing superior customer service to our
users. As of December 31, 2004, 62 employees were game
masters, 28 employees were members of our domestic customer
service team and 48 employees were members of our overseas
customer support team. With the growth of our user base and the
diversification of our game offering and in order to better
serve our users, we expect to continue to expand the size of our
customer service team.
In Korea, we provide customer service for our massively
multiplayer online role playing games through in-game bulletin
boards, call centers, email and facsimile and a walk-in customer
service center. Our in-game bulletin boards allow our customers
to post questions to, and receive responses from, other users
and our support staff. In our overseas markets, our licensees
handle customer service through varying combinations of in-game
bulletin boards, call centers, email and facsimile, with
assistance, from time to time, from our overseas customer
support staff.
In addition to providing customer service to our users, our
customer service staff also collect user comments with respect
to Ragnarok Online and generate daily and weekly reports for our
management and operations that summarize important issues raised
by users as well as how such issues have been addressed.
Network and technology infrastructure
We have designed and assembled a game server network and
information management system in Korea to allow a centralized
game management on a global basis. Our system network is
designed to speedily accommodate a growing subscriber base and
demand for faster game performance. Our game server architecture
runs multiple servers on a parallel basis to readily accommodate
increased user traffic through deployment of connection to
servers, which permits us to route users in the same country to
servers with less user traffic. Each of these servers are linked
to our information systems network to ensure rapid
implementation of game upgrades and to facilitate game
monitoring and supervision.
We maintain our server hardware in a single climate-controlled
facility at Korea Internet Data Center in Seocho-dong,
Seocho-gu, Seoul, Korea and our other system hardware in our
offices in Seoul. As of December 31, 2004, our server
network for our game operations in Korea consisted of a total of
442 servers.
In overseas markets, our overseas licensees own or lease the
servers necessary to establish the server network for the online
games and we assist our overseas licensees with initial assembly
and installation of operating game servers and optimizing their
systems network for game operations in their respective markets.
While the overseas system architectures are modeled on our
system architecture in Korea, they are also tailored to meet the
specific needs of each market. When we install and initialize a
game in an overseas market, we generally dispatch network
engineers and database technicians from Korea to assist with
assembly and operation of the system network and game servers.
Following installation, we typically station two to five of our
technicians and
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customer support staff in that market to assist with on-site
game operation and technical support. Our overseas licensees are
responsible for providing database and other game information
backup.
Our game management software can program the game content to
include localized features such as virtual map zones specific to
each market. These features can be updated disparately at the
host country level in order to encourage development of a
communal spirit among the users from the same country.
Competition
We compete primarily with other massively multiplayer online
role playing game developers and distributors in each of our
markets. In addition, we also compete for users against various
offline games, such as console games, arcade games and handheld
games. We compete primarily on the basis of the quality of the
game, which depends partly on the ability to consistently
attract creative game developers, the technical stability of our
online game platform, the quality of our customer service, the
reach of our distribution network and the efficiency of our
payment systems.
The online game market in Korea divides into the massively
multiplayer online role playing game market and the market for
casual games, such as online card games, that are available on
game portal websites. Currently, the leading providers of
massively multiplayer online role playing games in Korea are
NCsoft Corporation, Nexon and Webzen based on the number of peak
concurrent users. NCsoft released Lineage II, a sequel to
the original Lineage in July 2003. Lineage II is an
enhanced version of the original Lineage game released in 1998,
which gained dominant popularity in Korea. Nexon released in
1996 the World of Wind, the first MMORPG to be introduced in
Korea, and Kart Rider, an increasingly popular casual game, in
Korea in 2004. Webzen released Mu in May 2001 and ranked second
in market share in Korea based on peak concurrent users. The
leading providers of portal-based online casual games in Korea
are Neowiz Corp., operating under the brand portal of Pmang, NHN
Corporation operating under the brand portal of Hangame, and CJ
Internet operating under the brand portal of Netmarble. These
three companies comprised approximately 20% of the online casual
game market in Korea in 2003. Many of our competitors have
significantly greater financial, marketing and game development
resources than we have.
While the number of domestic massively multiplayer online role
playing game developers in Korea may increase in the future, we
expect the online game industry will consolidate into a small
number of leading massively multiplayer online role playing game
companies as the high cost of game development, marketing and
distribution networks drives a greater number of unsuccessful
massively multiplayer online role playing game providers to go
out of business or be acquired.
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Competition in overseas markets |
In each of the overseas markets in which Ragnarok Online is
distributed, we face competition which is more intense in some
markets, such as China, than others, such as Taiwan and
Thailand. Japans large game market is primarily driven by
console games although online games are gaining popularity among
Japanese game users. Our online game competitors in Japan
include NCsoft Corporation, Square Enix, Webzen, Electronic Arts
and Grigon Entertainment. Taiwans online game industry has
demonstrated significant growth in recent years with the market
dominated by games developed in Korea. We believe Ragnarok
Online is the leading online game in Taiwan in terms of the
number of peak concurrent users. Our principal competitors in
Taiwan include NCsoft Corporation and Sony Online Entertainment.
Thailand is also a fast growing online game market in Asia,
where we believe that Ragnarok Online is the dominant online
game based on the number of peak concurrent users. There are
many online game developers and distributors in China with games
distributed by Shanda Interactive leading the market in terms of
the number of peak concurrent users followed by Mu of Webzen and
other games.
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Competition from PC and console games |
We also compete against PC-based game developers that produce
popular PC-packaged games, such as Electronic Arts, Vivendi
Universal Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Take Two Interactive
Software, and Midway Games Inc., and game console manufacturers
such as Microsoft (which produces the Xbox console), Sony (which
produces the PlayStation2 console) and Nintendo (which produces
the Nintendo Gamecube console). In 2003,
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Microsoft and Sony introduced Internet-enabled video consoles
and we believe that they plan to enhance their respective game
platforms to provide online games in Korea and other markets.
For example, in Korea, Sony Computer Entertainment Korea started
distributing the PlayStation2 game consoles, equipped with a
network adapter to enable online game beginning in November
2003, and Microsoft started an online game service on Xbox Live
consoles beginning in October 2003. Several PC-based game
developers are introducing online features to their PC-packaged
games, such as team plays or users-to-users combat features. In
addition, it was reported that EA was seeking to make
significant investments to enter the online game market in China.
Competition in the online game market is and is expected to
remain intense as established entertainment companies with
significant financial resources seek to enter the industry. For
a discussion of risks relating to competition, see
Item 3.D. Risk Factors Risks related to
our business.
Insurance
We maintain fire and general commercial insurance with respect
to our facilities. We do not have any business liability or
disruption insurance coverage for our operations in Korea. In
April 2005, we purchased a directors and officers liability
insurance policy. The directors and officers liability insurance
does not cover liabilities arising from lawsuits brought by
overseas investors for alleged violations of the
U.S. federal securities laws or the Nasdaq listing
requirements.
Laws and Regulations
The Korean game industry and online game companies operating in
Korea are subject to the following law and regulations:
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The Sound Records, Video Products and Game Products Act. |
Report of business operation. Under this Act, a person or
entity who desires to operate a game manufacturing and/or
distributing business shall report its business to the Korea
Amusement Machine Manufacturers Association to which the
Minister of Culture and Tourism has delegated its authority to
accept and monitor such reports.
Rating regulation. A person or entity who desires to
manufacture or distribute games in Korea must obtain a game
rating in advance from the Korea Media Rating Board which is
established under this Act. Online games are generally divided
into two rating categories: suitable for users of all
ages and suitable for users over 18 years of
age. At the request of applicants, however, the ratings
category may be classified into four categories: suitable
for users of all ages, suitable for users over
12 years of age, suitable for users over
15 years of age and suitable for users over
18 years of age. Our online game, Ragnarok Online,
was classified as suitable for users over 12 years of age.
In addition, we received the same rating for R.O.S.E. Online.
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The Telecommunications Business Act |
Report of business operation. Under this Act we are
classified as a value-added communications service provider. A
person who intends to run a value-added communications business
shall report to the relevant Commissioner of Communications
Office to which the Minister of Information and Communication,
or MIC, has delegated its authority to accept and monitor such
reports.
Report of operation status. We, as a value-added
communications service provider, are required to prepare and
submit statistical reports regarding, among others, the current
status of facilities by telecommunications service, subscription
records, current status of users, etc., to the MIC upon its
request. The MIC is responsible for information and
telecommunications policies under this Act. In addition, we are
required to report any transfer, takeover, suspension or closing
of our business activities to the MIC. The MIC may cancel our
registration or order us to suspend our business for a period of
up to one year if we fail to comply with its rules and
regulations.
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The Act on Consumer Protection for Transactions through
Electronic Commerce |
Protection of consumer information for electronic settlement
services. Under this Act, we are required to take necessary
measures to maintain the security of consumer information
related to our electronic settlement services. We are also
required to notify consumers when electronic payments are made
and to indemnify consumers for damages resulting from
misappropriation of consumer information by third parties.
We believe that we have instituted appropriate safety measures
to protect consumers against data misappropriation. To date, we
have not experienced material disputes or claims in this area.
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The Act on Promotion of Information and Communications
Network Utilization and Information Protection |
Protection of personal information for users of information
and communications services. Under this Act, we are
permitted to gather personal information relating to our
subscribers within the scope of their consents. We are, however,
generally prohibited from using personal information or
providing it to third parties beyond the purposes disclosed in
our subscriber agreements. Disclosure of personal information
without consent from a subscriber is permitted if:
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it is necessary for the settlement of service charges, |
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the personal information is processed so that the specific
individual is unidentifiable and is provided for compiling
statistics, academic research or surveys, or |
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it is otherwise permitted by other law and regulations. |
We are required to indemnify users for damages occurring as a
result of our violation of the foregoing restrictions, unless we
can prove the absence of willful misconduct or negligence on our
part. We believe that we have instituted appropriate measures
and are in compliance with all material restrictions regarding
internal mishandling of personal information.
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The Korean Civil Code and the Telecommunication Framework
Act |
Protection of interests of online game users under
20 years of age. Pursuant to the Korean Civil Code,
contracts entered into with persons under 20 years of age
without parental consent may be invalidated. Under the
Telecommunication Framework Act, the Korea Communications
Commission, or KCC, a regulatory agency of the MIC, was
established for, among others, deliberating issues related to
fair competition and consumer protection with respect to
telecommunication services and arbitrating disputes involving
telecommunication service carriers and their users. As a result,
telecommunication service contracts and online game user
agreements are required to specifically set forth procedures for
rescinding service contracts, which may be entered into by
persons under 20 years of age without parental consent.
In November 2003, the KCC issued an order addressed to 15 major
online game companies in Korea, including us, to regulate
certain business practices relating to the settlement of service
charges involving persons under 20 years of age. The KCC
raised concerns about the ability of persons under 20 years
of age to subscribe to online game services without parental
consent by settling charges payable to online game companies
through settlement systems operated by fixed-line or broadband
service providers. The order required online game companies to
implement more specific and effective procedures to ensure,
where relevant, that parental consent has been specifically
obtained.
Although only a small number of our current subscribers are
using the settlement options mentioned in the KCC order, we are
enhancing our age verification and parental consent procedures
for players using the relevant settlement options. We do not
expect compliance with the KCC order to be burdensome.
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The Special Tax Treatment Control Law |
Taxation. We are currently entitled to a reduced
corporate income tax rate of 14.85%, which is 50% of the
statutory tax rate, under this Law. This reduced tax rate
applies to certain designated small- and medium-sized venture
companies operating in Korea for six years. We enjoyed this
reduced tax rate for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2004. However, we do not know if we will continue to be entitled
to this reduced tax rate in 2005 and thereafter.
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Other related laws and regulations |
Even though there are no mandatory filing or reporting
obligations, since online games generally consist of animation
based on computer program software, the Copyright Act and the
Computer Programs Protection Act also apply to online games.
As a result of increasing disputes between online game companies
and consumers in Taiwan, the ROC Consumer Protection Commission
announced its intention to promulgate certain standard
provisions that must be included in a consumer contract or a
model contract that online game companies are encouraged to
adopt, which govern the relationship between a consumer and an
online game company. In general, these standard provisions or
model contract, once implemented and if determined to be
applicable to online game companies, will impose more
responsibilities and liabilities on online game companies.
Deviations from this model contract may cause certain clauses to
be invalidated.
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Regulations of Internet content and game software |
Pursuant to the Children and Juvenile Welfare Act, it is illegal
to transmit or provide children under 18 years of age with,
among other things, game software, Internet, electronic signal,
DVD and compact disk, that contains content which propagates
violence, obscenity or similar material that may undermine the
mental health of a minor. Any person or entity violating this
Act may be subject to a fine and/or the enterprise may be forced
to cease to operate for up to one year. In addition, according
to this Act and the Guidelines for the Classification of
Internet Content, or the Guidelines, promulgated in April 2004
under this Act, Internet content shall not violate any mandatory
law and, unless otherwise provided in other laws or regulations,
shall be classified into four categories: suitable for
browsers of all ages, not suitable for children
under 6 years of age, not suitable for children
under 12 years of age; suitable for children between 12 to
18 years of age with supervision of a parent or a
teacher and not suitable for children under
18 years of age. The Internet content providers must
classify their Internet content as one of the four categories
and, if notified by the competent government authority, must
take measures to restrict a minor from obtaining access to such
content.
Currently, there is no mandatory national legislation
specifically covering the operation of Internet cafés.
However, several municipalities and counties such as Taipei City
and Taipei County have promulgated specific ordinances imposing
restrictions on Internet cafés, which relate to the
location, building structure, facilities, business hours, age
limit of customers and the classification of Internet content.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Executive Yuan, the ROC,
has proposed draft legislation that, if implemented, would
regulate all Internet Cafés located in the ROC. It is
unclear, however, whether or when the draft legislation will be
passed by the Legislative Yuan. In addition, pursuant to the
Public Order Maintenance Act, Internet cafés may be subject
to a fine and/or a business suspension or shut-down if minors
are found at Internet cafés during late hours.
The ROC government has promulgated the Computer-Processed
Personal Data Protection Act to regulate the collection
processing, usage and transmission of computer-processed
personal data. Generally, an Internet content provider, or ICP,
will not be subject to this Act if it does not collect or
process the personal data through the computer as its main
business activity. However, an ICP may become liable for the
loss of any data so collected.
Online game companies in Japan are not currently subject to any
government regulations targeted to the industry.
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Protection of personal information. |
Effective April 1, 2005, businesses in Japan became subject
to certain statutory requirements with respect to personal
information acquired during the course of its business. Pursuant
to these statutory requirements, businesses must set up
procedures to appropriately protect personal information from
being used for any other purpose than the initial purpose.
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Regulations on sound upbringing of minors |
In Japan, Internet and game software content is generally
regulated at the local, rather than national, level. Many local
governments have ordinances for sound upbringing of minors,
which, among other things, empower competent authorities to
designate game software as detrimental to the sound upbringing
of minors and prohibit the sale or distribution of such
designated game software. In addition, the Computer
Entertainment Rating Organization, or CERO, a nonprofit
organization, offers rating services for home-use games,
including online games. Game developers may request a rating for
their game software from CERO, which will then review such
software and assign one of the following four ratings:
suitable for users of all ages, suitable for
users of 12 years old or older, suitable for
users of 15 years old or older and suitable for
users of 18 years old or older. The rating is based
on, among others, the degree of sex, violence and anti-social
expressions in the game software content. Once a rating is
assigned, a game software must prominently display such rating.
There is no specific law or regulation that directly governs
online games, online game companies or the industry. The online
game industry in Thailand operates under a legal regime that
generally regulates vendors of Internet cafés and game
shops rather than online game operators. Several of the
governmental agencies in Thailand work in cooperation with one
another in regulating the industry. The Thai government,
principally through the ICT Ministry with the cooperation of the
Interior Ministry, is making efforts to regulate the
fast-growing Internet business, in particular the online game
industry. Recently, the Thai government proposed measures that
would affect the online game industry, including the restriction
on the playing time of game users under 18 years of age to
three hours per day, prohibition of gambling, lottery or game
item trading via online games and mandatory Internet café
registration. These measures are pending legislative approval.
The Ministry of Commerce in Thailand is also responsible for
regulating online businesses by requiring registration.
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Registration of Internet cafés and online game
operators |
There is no specific legislation that regulates online game
operators, Internet cafés or online game shops. The
Ministry of Commerce in Thailand, however, requires that online
game operators that offer online games over websites or Internet
portals to register for e-business registration and also
requires Internet cafés and online game shops to register
under the Commercial Registration Act. In addition, if the
recent legislative proposals are adopted, Internet cafés
will also be required to register with the ICT Ministry.
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Regulation of business hours |
Under the Control of Business Relating to Tape Cassette and
Television Material Act, computer game vendors and shops are
required to obtain a license to broadcast tape cassette and
television material, which includes CD-ROMS or digital
videodiscs. A condition to this license restricts the business
hours of game shops to generally from 10.00 a.m. to
10.00 p.m. In addition, game users under 18 years of
age would be restricted from playing for more than three hours a
day under the recent legislative proposals. The Registration
Department of the Royal Thai Police is responsible for granting
licenses in the Bangkok area. The Act is currently applicable to
only offline game shops that use CD-ROMs or digital videodiscs,
but the recent proposals, if adopted, would also impact online
game shops by including computer game servers and hard disks as
part of regulated materials under the Ministerial Regulations.
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Restriction on access by children |
Under the Child Protection Act, the Royal Thai Police has the
authority to set restricted hours for children at game shops to
limit their time spent at such shops. Under this Act, the Royal
Thai Police also prohibits any person from forcing, threatening,
inducing, advocating, causing or permitting children to
misbehave or engage in
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misconduct. In addition, under this Act, the ICT Minister
requests online game operators to close access to its game
server after curfew hours. Users over 18 years of age,
however, are permitted password protected access to certain
online game servers even during curfew hours by obtaining a
password available at the post office. The ICT Minister has also
implemented the Goodnet project, which recommends
that members of the computer and Internet service provider
community cooperate in restricting their business hours to
prevent children under the age of 18 from entering their place
of business during curfew hours.
Under the Copyright Act, online games are classified as
copyrightable work in the category of computer program or
software, and, therefore, automatically protected in Thailand
without requiring further registration with or notification to
any governmental agency. Despite the lack of mandatory
registration or notification requirements, it is recommended
that copyright owners of online games notify the Department of
Intellectual Property, the Ministry of Commerce of their online
games to ensure that their names officially and publicly appear
in the listing of copyrighted computer software. The copyright
owner has the exclusive right to copy, modify and publish its
copyrighted work.
The online game industry in China operates under a legal regime
that consists of the State Council, which is the highest
authority of the executive branch of the PRC central government,
and various ministries and agencies under its leadership. These
ministries and agencies include:
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The State Council and these ministries and agencies have issued
a series of rules that regulate a number of different
substantive areas of our business, which are discussed below.
Licenses. Online game companies are required to obtain
licenses from a variety of PRC regulatory authorities.
As an ICP business, online game companies are required to hold a
value-added telecommunications business operation license, or
ICP license, issued by the Ministry of Information Industry or
its local offices. Moreover, ICP operators providing ICP
services in multiple provinces, autonomous regions and centrally
administered municipalities may be required to obtain an
inter-regional ICP license.
Each ICP license holder that engages in the supply and servicing
of Internet cultural products, which include online games, must
obtain an additional Internet culture business operations
license from the Ministry of Culture.
The State Press and Publications Administration and the Ministry
of Information Industry jointly impose a license requirement for
any company that intends to engage in Internet publishing,
defined as any act by an Internet information service provider
to select, edit and process content or programs and to make such
content or programs publicly available on the Internet.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Information Industry has
promulgated rules requiring ICP license holders that provide
online bulletin board services to register with, and obtain an
approval from, the relevant telecommunications authorities.
Regulation of Internet content. The PRC government has
promulgated measures relating to Internet content through a
number of ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of
Information Industry, the Ministry of Culture and the State
Press and Publications Administration. These measure
specifically prohibit Internet activities, which includes the
operation of online games, that result in the publication of any
content which is
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found to, among other things, propagate obscenity, gambling or
violence, instigate crimes, undermine public morality or the
cultural traditions of the PRC, or compromise State security or
secrets. If an ICP license holder violates these measures, the
PRC government may revoke its ICP license and shut down its
websites.
Regulation of information security. Internet content in
China is also regulated and restricted from a State security
standpoint. The National Peoples Congress, Chinas
national legislative body, has enacted a law that may subject to
criminal punishment in China any effort to: (i) gain
improper entry into a computer or system of strategic
importance; (ii) disseminate politically disruptive
information; (iii) leak State secrets; (iv) spread
false commercial information; or (v) infringe intellectual
property rights.
The Ministry of Public Security has promulgated measures that
prohibit use of the Internet in ways which, among other things,
result in a leakage of State secrets or a spread of socially
destabilizing content. The Ministry of Public Security has
supervision and inspection rights in this regard. If an ICP
license holder violates these measures, the PRC government may
revoke its ICP license and shut down its websites.
Import regulation. Licensing online games from abroad and
importing them into China is regulated in several ways. Any
license agreement with a foreign licensor that involves import
of technologies, including online game software into China, are
required to be registered with the Ministry of Commerce. Without
that registration, a licensee cannot remit licensing fees out of
China to any foreign game licensor. In addition, the Ministry of
Culture requires the licensee to submit for its content review
and approval any online games to be imported. If a licensee
imports games without that approval, the Ministry of Culture may
impose penalties, including revoking the Internet culture
business operations license required for the operation of online
games in China. Furthermore, the State Copyright Bureau requires
the licensee to register copyright license agreements relating
to imported software. Without the State Copyright Bureau
registration, a licensee cannot remit licensing fees out of
China to any foreign game licensor and is not allowed to publish
or reproduce the imported game software in China.
Intellectual property rights. The State Council and the
State Copyright Bureau have promulgated various regulations and
rules relating to protection of software in China. Under these
regulations and rules, software owners, licensees and
transferees may register their rights in software with the State
Copyright Bureau or its local branches and obtain software
copyright registration certificates. Although such registration
is not mandatory under PRC law, software owners, licensees and
transferees are encouraged to go through the registration
process and registered software rights may receive better
protection.
Internet café regulation. Internet cafés are
required to obtain a license from the Ministry of Culture and
the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, and are
subject to requirements and regulations with respect to
location, size, number of computers, age limit of customers and
business hours. The PRC government has announced its intention,
and has begun, to intensify its regulation of Internet
cafés. In February 2004, the State Administration of
Industry and Commerce, together with other governmental
authorities, issued a notice to suspend issuance of new Internet
café licenses. Although an Internet café franchise has
recently been permitted to open new shops subject to
satisfaction of relevant requirements and approval of the
relevant authorities, it is unclear when this suspension will
generally be lifted.
Privacy protection. PRC law does not prohibit Internet
content providers from collecting and analyzing personal
information from their users. PRC law prohibits Internet content
providers from disclosing to any third parties any information
transmitted by users through their networks unless otherwise
permitted by law. If an Internet content provider violates these
regulations, the Ministry of Information Industry or its local
bureaus may impose penalties and the Internet content provider
may be liable for damages caused to its users.
While we believe that our licensee and its local cooperation
partners are in compliance with the applicable laws and
regulations governing the online game industry in China, we
cannot assure you that our operation of Ragnarok Online in China
will not be found to be in violation of any current or future
Chinese laws and regulations. Failure by our overseas licensees
to comply with laws and regulations in China, including
obtaining and maintaining the requisite government licenses and
permits, may have a material adverse effect on our business,
financial condition and results of operations. See
Item 3.D. Risk Factors Risks related to
our business In many of our markets, we rely heavily
on our overseas licensees to operate and distribute our
games.
43
The content of video game software is not subject to federal
regulation in the United States. However, many video game
software publishers comply with the standardized rating system
established by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, or ESRB,
an independent entity established in 1994. ESRB rates video
games, websites and online games and reviews advertising by
video game publishers. Video game software publishers typically
include ESRB ratings and their meanings on their game software
packages.
Certain industry organizations may also require interactive
entertainment software publishers to provide consumers with
information on graphic violence, profanity or sexually explicit
material contained in software titles, and impose penalties for
noncompliance. Several proposals have been made for federal
legislation to regulate the interactive entertainment software,
motion picture and recording industries, including a proposal to
adopt a common rating system for interactive entertainment
software, television and music containing violence or sexually
explicit material, and the Federal Trade Commission has issued
reports with respect to the marketing of such material to
minors. Consumer advocacy groups have also opposed sales of
interactive entertainment software containing graphic violence
or sexually explicit material by pressing for legislation in
these areas (including legislation prohibiting the sale of
certain M rated video games to minors) and by
engaging in public demonstrations and media campaigns. If any
groups (including international, national and local political
and regulatory bodies) were to target M rated
titles, producers of such titles might be required to
significantly change or discontinue them.
4.C. Organizational Structure
The following is our organization chart:
Organization chart
Ownership of Gravity
(As of May 31, 2005)
4.D. Property, Plants and
Equipment
Our property and equipment mainly consist of the land and
building in which our headquarters are located, game engines,
network servers and personal computers. As of December 31,
2004, the net book value of our property and equipment was
W14,951 million. Because our main business is to develop
and distribute online game services, we do not own any factories
or facilities that manufacture products. There are no factories
currently under construction, and we have no plans to build any
factories in the future.
Our principal executive and administrative offices are located
on six floors of Shingu Building, 620-2 Shinsa-dong,
Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea 135-984 and six floors of an
office building at 619-4 Shinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul,
Korea 135-984. We occupy 67,741 square feet of office
space, 20,771 of which we own and 46,970 of which we lease from
one of our executive directors and our largest shareholder,
44
Mr. Jung Ryool Kim, pursuant to a lease that will expire on
December 31, 2005 and which is renewable for one additional
year. The annual lease payment amounts to W865 million
(US$836 thousand).
We believe that our existing facilities are adequate for our
current requirements and that additional space can be obtained
on commercially reasonable terms to meet our future requirements.
The offices of GRAVITY Interactive LLC, our wholly-owned
subsidiary in the United States, are located at
4505 Glencoe Ave, 2nd Floor, Marina Del Ray,
California. GRAVITY Interactive occupies 5,815 square feet
of office space, leased from a third party, as December 31,
2004. The annual lease payment amounts to US$60,000. We believe
that the existing facilities of GRAVITY Interactive are adequate
for its current requirements and that additional space can be
obtained on commercially reasonable terms to meet its future
requirements.
The registered offices of GRAVITY Entertainment Corporation, our
wholly-owned subsidiary in Japan, are located at
Shinkasumigaseki Bldg. 18F, I-Park 3-3-2 Kasumigaseki,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan. GRAVITY Entertainment occupies
355.3 square feet of office space, leased from a third
party, as of December 31, 2004. The annual lease payment
amounts to W23 million (US$22 thousand). We believe
that the existing facilities of GRAVITY Entertainment are
adequate for its current requirements and that additional space
can be obtained on commercially reasonable terms to meet its
future requirements.
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ITEM 5. |
OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS |
You should read the following discussion together with our
consolidated financial statements and the related notes which
appear elsewhere in this report. The following discussion is
based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been
prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our historic
performance may not be indicative of our future results of
operations and capital requirements and resources.
5.A. Operating Results
We are based in Korea and are a leading developer and
distributor of online games in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand based
on the number of peak concurrent users. From our inception in
April 2000 until commercialization of our first online game,
Ragnarok Online, in August 2002, our operating activities were
limited primarily to developing Ragnarok Online and rolling out
a free test, or beta-test, version of Ragnarok Online in
November 2001. During this period, we generated revenues of
W405 million in 2000 by purchasing and reselling computer
components and W167 million in 2001 from the sale of
Arcturus, a PC-based game.
Ragnarok Online is currently commercially offered in Korea, the
United States and Canada by us and in 17 other overseas
markets by our overseas licensees, and has accounted for 93.9%
of our revenues in 2004. Revenues generated from Ragnarok Online
are determined largely by the following factors: pricing and
pricing structure, the number of Ragnarok Online users and the
average number of hours users spend playing Ragnarok Online. In
order to play Ragnarok Online, users either pay a flat monthly
fee or purchase a fixed number of game hours. The pricing
structure of Ragnarok Online in a given country is determined
primarily based on the cost of publishing and operating Ragnarok
Online, the playing and payment patterns of users, the pricing
of competing games and the income per capita of consumers in
that country. The pricing of Ragnarok Online is determined by us
in Korea, the United States and Canada, and, in other countries,
by our overseas licensees after consultation with us and has
remained generally stable since its commercial launch in each of
the countries in which it is distributed. Due to competitive
pressure and in line with market practice, we and our licensees
have not raised prices for Ragnarok Online following its
commercial launch in a country. The aggregate number of Ragnarok
Online users has increased as we have entered into new markets
primarily through our licensees and as the number of Ragnarok
Online users in existing markets has increased. The number of
Ragnarok Online users and the amount of Ragnarok Online usage in
a given country depend in part on the perceived quality of
Ragnarok Online and the level of local competition. While it is
difficult to accurately determine what accounts for the superior
quality of an online game, we believe that Ragnarok
Onlines storyline, graphics and community-oriented themes,
together with our ability to timely maintain, update and enhance
the content and technical aspects of the game, have been largely
responsible for the games commercial success.
45
In Korea, Sunny YNK Inc. has the exclusive right to distribute
Ragnarok Online until July 2005, although we have handled
marketing, operation and billing of Ragnarok Online since its
commercial launch. In overseas markets other than the United
States and Canada, our licensees handle such functions under a
licensing agreement with us, under which we generally receive
license fees and royalty payments. The term of the licensing
agreement is typically two years, and renewing licensees
typically pay a lump-sum renewal fee in addition to ongoing
royalty payments. The major overseas markets in which we offer
Ragnarok Online through our licensees are Japan, Taiwan,
Thailand and China in terms of revenue contribution, and our
licensees are GungHo Online Entertainment Inc. in Japan,
Soft-World International in Taiwan, Value Central in China and
Asia Soft International in Thailand.
Since Ragnarok Onlines initial commercial launch in August
2002, we have experienced significant growth in revenues and net
income. Our revenues increased by 51.9% to W64,440 million
(US$62,255 thousand) in 2004 from W42,431 million in 2003
and by 332.3% to W42,431 million in 2003 from
W9,816 million in 2002. Our net income increased by 99.1%
to W29,201 million (US$28,211 thousand) in 2004 from
W14,669 million in 2003 and we recorded net income of
W14,669 million in 2003 as compared to net loss of
W496 million in 2002. Our gross profit margin also
increased from 82.3% in 2002 to 83.8% in 2003 and to 84.0% in
2004 and our operating margin increased from 23.5% in 2002 to
53.9% in 2003 to 59.6% in 2004. We attribute our revenue growth
largely to our early entry into additional markets since
Ragnarok Onlines commercial launch and the continuing
popularity of Ragnarok Online among users in the existing
markets. We attribute our margin improvement to the scalability
of the online game business. Once a game is launched and the
initial development and marketing costs have been expensed,
relatively low marginal costs are incurred to expand into
additional markets through licensing arrangements. Our revenue
growth may be adversely affected in the future by the popularity
of online games newly introduced by our competitors. Our future
success depends largely on our ability to develop or publish
commercially successful new online games.
In January 2005, we commercially launched R.O.S.E. Online, our
second online game, in Korea. We currently plan to commercially
launch R.O.S.E. Online in one or more of our other key markets.
Despite our commercial launch of R.O.S.E. Online, our revenues
and net income declined in the first quarter of 2005 as compared
to those of the first quarter of 2004 and the fourth quarter of
2004. The decrease in revenues was primarily due to the
continuing decline in subscription revenues from Ragnarok Online
in Korea. Royalties and license fees from overseas markets
remained relatively constant in the first quarter of 2005 as
compared to the fourth quarter of 2004. Our operating expenses
for the first quarter of 2005 increased as compared to those of
the first quarter of 2004 and the fourth quarter of 2004 due
primarily to the stock options expenses that we incurred and the
increase in labor-related expenses. Our future results of
operations will also be affected by our ability to renew our
status as a designated small- and medium-sized venture company
and qualify for preferential treatment of the 50% reduction in
corporate income tax rate through 2007 as described in
Income tax expenses. Our income tax rate
in 2004 was 14.85%. Our designation as a venture company is up
for renewal in 2005.
We derive, and expect to continue to generate, most of our
revenues from online game subscription fees paid by users in
Korea, the United States and Canada, and royalties and license
fees paid by our licensees in the overseas markets. Our revenues
can be classified into the following four categories:
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online games subscription revenue, |
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online games royalties and license fees, |
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mobile games, and |
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character merchandising, animation and other revenue. |
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Online games subscription revenue |
Prepaid online game subscription fees are deferred and
recognized as revenue on a monthly basis in proportion to the
number of days lapsed or actual hours used of the subscription
purchased.
46
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Online games royalties and license fees |
We license the right to market and distribute our games in
exchange for an initial license fee. In addition, we receive
royalties based on a percentage of the licensees sales
and, currently in China, guaranteed minimum royalty payments. We
generally are advised by each of our licensees as to the amount
of royalties earned by us from such licensee within 15 to
25 days following the end of each month.
Initial license fees. The initial license fees are
deferred and recognized ratably as revenue over the license
period, which typically does not exceed two years. For a table
setting forth details of each license agreement, see
Item 4.B. Business Overview Our
markets Overseas markets. When the license
agreements are renewed upon the expiration of their terms, we
generally receive renewal license fees.
Guaranteed minimum royalty payments. In China, in
addition to the initial license fee, we are entitled to receive
a guaranteed minimum royalty payment for licensing the right to
market and distribute Ragnarok Online. The minimum guaranteed
royalty payment is US$400,000 to be paid on a semi-annual basis,
in May and in November of each year during the term of the
license agreement. This guaranteed minimum royalty payment is
deferred and recognized as the royalties are earned. In
addition, we receive a royalty payment based on a specified
percentage of the licensees sales. Royalties that exceed
the guaranteed minimum are recognized on a monthly basis as they
are earned by the licensee.
Monthly royalty revenues. We also receive royalty
revenues from our licensees based on an agreed percentage of the
licensees revenues from Ragnarok Online. Royalty revenues
are recognized on a monthly basis after the licensee confirms
its revenues based on the licensees sales from Ragnarok
Online during the month.
Mobile games are played using mobile phones and other mobile
devices. Mobile game revenues are derived from a percentage of
the per-download fees that users pay to mobile telecommunication
operators in Korea after deducting their service charges.
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Character merchandising, animation and other revenue |
We license the right to commercialize our Ragnarok characters
into a variety of merchandise in exchange for an initial prepaid
license fee and guaranteed minimum royalty payments. The
guaranteed minimum royalty payments are deferred and recognized
as the royalties are earned. In addition, we receive a royalty
payment based on a specified percentage of the licensees
sales. Royalties that exceed the guaranteed minimum are
recognized on a monthly basis as they are earned by the licensee.
Our cost of revenues consists principally of the following:
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operational expenses, server depreciation expenses, server
maintenance costs and related personnel costs and amortization
of development-related costs as described in
Critical accounting policies
Capitalized software development costs; and |
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royalty payments to Mr. Myoung-Jin Lee, on whose cartoon
series Ragnarok Online is based, pursuant to our license from
Mr. Lee as described below. |
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License from Myoung-Jin Lee |
In developing Ragnarok Online, we obtained an exclusive license
from Mr. Myoung-Jin Lee to use the storyline and characters
from his cartoon titled Ragnarok for the production
of online games, animation and character merchandising. In
return, we paid Mr. Lee an initial license fee of
W40 million and are required to pay royalties based on 1.0%
or 1.5% of adjusted revenues (net of value-added taxes and
certain other expenses) or 2.5%, 5% or 10% of net income
generated from the use of the Ragnarok brand, depending on the
type of revenues received from the operation or licensing of
Ragnarok Online.
The cost of revenues from the payments to Mr. Lee was
W545 million for 2003 and W774 million for 2004. This
agreement expires in January 2033.
47
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Selling, general and administrative expenses |
Selling, general and administrative expenses consist of sales
commissions paid to independent promotional agents that
distribute our online games to our Internet café
subscribers in Korea, commissions paid to payment settlement
providers, administrative expenses and related personnel
expenses of executive and administrative staff, and marketing
and promotional expenses and related personnel expenses.
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Research and development expenses |
Research and development expenses consist primarily of payroll
and other overhead expenses which are all expensed as incurred
until technological feasibility of a game is reached. Once
technological feasibility of a game is reached, these costs are
capitalized and, once commercial operation commences, amortized
as cost of revenues. See Critical accounting
policies Capitalized software development
costs.
In February and April 2002, we entered into agreements with
Sunny YNK, an online game publisher in Korea listed on the
KOSDAQ Market Division of the Korea Exchange, or KOSDAQ,
pursuant to which we granted it the exclusive right to
distribute Ragnarok Online for a contractual period of three
years from the date Ragnarok Online was first commercialized. In
consideration, we received a lump sum payment in the amount of
W7,000 million at the inception of these agreements, which
we recorded as debt on our balance sheet. Under the sales agency
agreement that we entered into with Sunny YNK in April 2002
granting to it the exclusive distribution right, Sunny YNK owns
the right to distribute Ragnarok Online in Korea. However, in
practice, we perform all of the relevant marketing, advertising
and selling activities, and distribute Ragnarok Online from our
websites and host it on our servers.
As there is no interest rate stated in the agreement with Sunny
YNK, the interest is imputed based on the difference between the
principal amount of the loan and the total payments expected to
be made pursuant to the agreement. Accordingly, the repayment of
principal balance to Sunny YNK is variable each year in
accordance with the amount of annual revenues generated from
distribution of Ragnarok Online and deduction of annual interest
expense allocated using the interest rate method. Pursuant to
the terms of these agreements, we are obligated to make payments
to Sunny YNK based on a percentage of adjusted revenues (net of
value-added taxes and certain other expenses) related to
Ragnarok Online as follows:
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until the accumulated payments amount to W7,000 million,
50% of our domestic and overseas adjusted revenues from Ragnarok
Online, which amount was reached in April 2003; and |
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once the accumulated payments exceed W7,000 million, 20% of
our domestic adjusted revenues from Ragnarok Online and 10% of
our overseas adjusted revenues from Ragnarok Online. |
We incurred interest expense of W5,738 million in 2003 and
W4,308 million (US$4,162 thousand) in 2004 as a result of
our arrangement with Sunny YNK. As of December 31, 2004,
the outstanding balance of our debt incurred from Sunny YNK was
W1,278 million (US$1,235 thousand). Our agreement with
Sunny YNK expires in July 2005, at which time we will no longer
be obligated to make payments to Sunny YNK. In accordance with
this agreement, in 2003 and 2004, we paid W7,923 million
and W6,670 million to Sunny YNK, respectively. Of these
payments, W2,749 million and W2,333 million were
allocated to principal, and W5,174 million and
W4,337 million were allocated to interest, respectively.
Pursuant to the terms of the agreement with Sunny YNK, once the
cumulative royalty payments to Sunny YNK reached
W7 billion, it is required to use 15% of future royalty
payments, paid by us, to fund additional marketing of the
RAGNAROK game. In April 2003, cumulative royalty payments to
Sunny YNK reached W7 billion. After January 1, 2004,
these marketing activities were performed by us and therefore,
Sunny YNK reimbursed us for these costs, which was credited to
advertising expenses within selling, general and administrative
expenses in the accompanying statement of operations.
In 2004, 79.0% of our revenues were denominated in foreign
currencies, primarily in the U.S. dollar and the Japanese
Yen. In most of the countries in which our games are
distributed, other than the United States, Japan and
48
European countries, the revenues generated by our licensees are
denominated in local currencies, which include the NT dollar,
the Baht and the Renminbi, and converted into the
U.S. dollar for remittance of monthly royalty payments to
us. Depreciation of these local currencies against the
U.S. dollar will result in reduced monthly royalty payments
in U.S. dollar terms, thereby having a negative impact on
our revenues.
While we receive our monthly royalty revenues from our overseas
licensees in foreign currencies, primarily in the
U.S. dollar, the Japanese Yen and the Euro, substantially
all of our costs are denominated in the Korean Won. Our
financial statements are also prepared and presented in the
Korean Won. We receive monthly royalty payments from our
overseas licensees based on a percentage of revenues confirmed
and recorded at the end of each month applying the foreign
exchange rate applicable on such date. We generally receive
these royalty payments 20 to 30 days after such record date
(except in Europe, where such payment could be received up to
45 days after the record date). Appreciation or
depreciation of the Korean Won against these foreign currencies
during this period will result in foreign currency losses or
gains and affect our net income.
In 2005, we began entering into derivatives arrangements to
hedge against the risk of foreign currency fluctuations. As of
June 29, 2005, we had foreign currency forward contracts
outstanding in the aggregate notional amount of
US$70 million. See Item 11 Quantitative and
Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.
Under Korean law and regulations, certain designated small- and
medium-sized venture companies may be entitled to enjoy
preferential tax treatment from the Korean government in the
form of a 50% reduction in corporate income tax rate during the
year in which they first generated taxable income and the
following five years if such venture companies satisfy a number
of financial and non-financial criteria (including the
maintenance of their status as designated venture companies). We
have had the benefit of the 50% reduction in corporate income
tax rate in 2003 and 2004. Our current applicable corporate
income tax rate (including resident surtax) is 14.85% after
applying the 50% tax reduction rate. To become a designated
venture company, a company must qualify as a small- and medium-
sized enterprise under the Framework Act on Small- and
Medium-Sized Enterprises and be found to have, among other
things, a superior ability to provide innovation in technology
and business by the Small and Medium Business Administration of
Korea. Under the first prong of this test, a company that is
engaged in data processing or computer-related business may
qualify as a small- and medium-sized enterprise under the
Framework Act on Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises if, among
other things, (i) it hires less than three hundred
full-time employees or (ii) the total revenue of such
company does not exceed W30 billion. In 2004, we failed to
satisfy both of these tests. However, even if a company fails to
satisfy both of the preceding requirements, it will continue to
enjoy its status as a small-and medium-sized enterprise for the
following three years so long as that company neither
(x) merges into, nor consolidates with, another company nor
(y) becomes an affiliate of certain large enterprise.
Accordingly, we will continue to qualify as a small- and
medium-sized company through 2007 if we neither merge into, nor
consolidate with, another company nor become affiliated with
large enterprises under Korean law.
The second prong of this test involves evaluation and due
diligence of non-financial criteria such as adequacy of human
resources, technological superiority, business plan and
prospects, industry prospects, marketing strategy and plan,
organizational information and management. The non-financial
criteria of determining and declaring a company as a designated
venture company may involve subjective judgment. A designated
venture company, including us, must qualify every two years
based on the evaluation described above. It is not certain
whether we will continue to satisfy all the necessary
qualifications required under the relevant law and regulations
and thus, it is possible that we will cease to enjoy this
preferential tax treatment from 2005, because our designation as
a venture company will be up for renewal in 2005. However, if we
continue to satisfy the necessary qualifications and renew our
designation as a venture company, we may be able to enjoy this
preferential treatment through 2007, after which we will be
subject to the normal corporate tax rate without the 50%
reduction. However, even if we cease to enjoy the 50% reduction
in corporate income tax rate in 2005, we will instead be
entitled to a special tax exemption of 10% in corporate income
tax rate for the fiscal year 2005 by virtue of being a small-
and medium-sized company.
To the extent we derive revenues from countries other than
Korea, we may be subject to income withholding in those
countries in which our products, including online games, are
distributed. Such withholding taxes are included under income
tax expenses. Withholding of such taxes is done by our overseas
licensees at the current
49
withholding rates in such countries. The effective withholding
tax rates in our major overseas markets are 10% in Japan and
China, 20% in Taiwan and 15% in Thailand. To the extent Korea
has a tax treaty with any such country, withholding rates
prescribed by such tax treaty apply. Under the Corporation Tax
Law of Korea, we are entitled to, and recognize, a tax credit
computed based on the amount of income withheld overseas when
filing our income tax return in Korea, up to a limited amount.
Accordingly, the amount of taxes withheld overseas may be offset
against taxes payable in Korea. Adverse changes in tax treaties
between Korea and the countries from which we receive license
fees and royalties or adverse changes in Korean tax law that
prevent us from recognizing tax credits for taxes withheld
overseas could materially and adversely affect our net income.
Quarterly results of operations
The following table presents our unaudited quarterly results of
operations for the eight quarters through December 31,
2004. You should read the following table in conjunction with
the consolidated financial statements and related notes
contained elsewhere in this annual report. We have prepared the
unaudited information on the same basis as our audited
consolidated financial statements. This information includes all
adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments,
that we consider necessary for a fair presentation of our
financial condition and results of operations for the quarters
presented. Because the online game industry is relatively new
and rapidly evolving and our business is also relatively new,
results of operations for any quarter are not necessarily
indicative of results for any future quarters or for a full year.
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Three Months Ended (Unaudited) | |
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March 31, | |
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June 30, | |
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September 30, | |
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December 31, | |
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March 31, | |
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June 30, | |
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September 30, | |
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December 31, | |
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2003 | |
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2003 | |
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2003 | |
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2003 | |
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2004 | |
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2004 | |
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2004 | |
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2004 | |
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(In millions of Korean Won) | |
Revenues
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|
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Online games subscription revenue
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W |
4,465 |
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W |
4,241 |
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|
W |
5,219 |
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W |
4,635 |
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|
W |
4,696 |
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W |
3,892 |
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W |
4,287 |
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W |
3,378 |
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Online games royalties and license fees
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2,837 |
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4,247 |
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6,258 |
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9,462 |
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10,919 |
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11,055 |
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11,083 |
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11,179 |
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Mobile games
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5 |
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15 |
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15 |
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8 |
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21 |
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|
125 |
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|
107 |
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227 |
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Character merchandising, animation and other revenue
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195 |
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131 |
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|
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249 |
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449 |
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|
|
393 |
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|
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454 |
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946 |
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1,678 |
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Total revenues
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7,502 |
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8,634 |
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|
11,741 |
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|
14,554 |
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|
|
16,029 |
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|
|
15,526 |
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|
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16,423 |
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|
|
16,462 |
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Cost of revenues
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|
1,199 |
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|
1,790 |
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|
|
1,811 |
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|
|
2,066 |
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|
|
2,231 |
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|
|
2,333 |
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|
|
2,916 |
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2,829 |
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Gross profit
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|
6,303 |
|
|
|
6,844 |
|
|
|
9,930 |
|
|
|
12,488 |
|
|
|
13,798 |
|
|
|
13,193 |
|
|
|
13,507 |
|
|
|
13,633 |
|
Operating expenses
|
|
|
1,655 |
|
|
|
2,771 |
|
|
|
3,647 |
|
|
|
4,639 |
|
|
|
2,739 |
|
|
|
3,230 |
|
|
|
5,623 |
|
|
|
4,157 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating income
|
|
|
4,648 |
|
|
|
4,073 |
|
|
|
6,283 |
|
|
|
7,849 |
|
|
|
11,059 |
|
|
|
9,963 |
|
|
|
7,884 |
|
|
|
9,476 |
|
Other income (expense)
|
|
|
(2,006 |
) |
|
|
(1,311 |
) |
|
|
(1,239 |
) |
|
|
(1,093 |
) |
|
|
(1,351 |
) |
|
|
(1,245 |
) |
|
|
(966 |
) |
|
|
(986 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income before income tax expenses, minority interest, and losses
from equity method investee
|
|
|
2,642 |
|
|
|
2,762 |
|
|
|
5,044 |
|
|
|
6,756 |
|
|
|
9,708 |
|
|
|
8,718 |
|
|
|
6,918 |
|
|
|
8,490 |
|
|
Income tax expenses
|
|
|
364 |
|
|
|
453 |
|
|
|
562 |
|
|
|
1,156 |
|
|
|
1,310 |
|
|
|
1,285 |
|
|
|
1,381 |
|
|
|
426 |
|
Income before minority interest and losses from equity method
investee
|
|
|
2,278 |
|
|
|
2,309 |
|
|
|
4,482 |
|
|
|
5,600 |
|
|
|
8,398 |
|
|
|
7,433 |
|
|
|
5,537 |
|
|
|
8,064 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Minority interest
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equity in loss of related joint venture
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(156 |
) |
|
|
(92 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
50
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended (Unaudited) | |
|
|
| |
|
|
March 31, | |
|
June 30, | |
|
September 30, | |
|
December 31, | |
|
March 31, | |
|
June 30, | |
|
September 30, | |
|
December 31, | |
|
|
2003 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Korean Won) | |
Net income
|
|
W |
2,278 |
|
|
W |
2,309 |
|
|
W |
4,482 |
|
|
W |
5,600 |
|
|
W |
8,399 |
|
|
W |
7,448 |
|
|
W |
5,382 |
|
|
W |
7,972 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aggregate peak concurrent Ragnarok Online users(1)
|
|
|
306,742 |
|
|
|
460,645 |
|
|
|
498,888 |
|
|
|
597,615 |
|
|
|
732,450 |
|
|
|
742,647 |
|
|
|
774,713 |
|
|
|
762,585 |
|
Average concurrent Ragnarok Online users(2)
|
|
|
151,763 |
|
|
|
240,720 |
|
|
|
273,433 |
|
|
|
343,911 |
|
|
|
427,349 |
|
|
|
376,049 |
|
|
|
400,298 |
|
|
|
452,519 |
|
Gross profit margin(3)
|
|
|
84.0 |
% |
|
|
79.3 |
% |
|
|
84.6 |
% |
|
|
85.8 |
% |
|
|
86.1 |
% |
|
|
85.0 |
% |
|
|
82.2 |
% |
|
|
82.8 |
% |
Operating profit margin(4)
|
|
|
62.0 |
|
|
|
47.2 |
|
|
|
53.5 |
|
|
|
53.9 |
|
|
|
69.0 |
|
|
|
64.2 |
|
|
|
48.0 |
|
|
|
57.6 |
|
Net margin(5)
|
|
|
30.4 |
|
|
|
26.7 |
|
|
|
38.2 |
|
|
|
38.5 |
|
|
|
52.4 |
|
|
|
48.0 |
|
|
|
32.8 |
|
|
|
48.4 |
|
Revenue growth(6)
|
|
|
N/A |
|
|
|
15.1 |
|
|
|
36.0 |
|
|
|
24.0 |
|
|
|
10.1 |
|
|
|
(3.1 |
) |
|
|
5.8 |
|
|
|
0.2 |
|
Net income growth(7)
|
|
|
N/A |
|
|
|
1.4 |
|
|
|
94.1 |
|
|
|
24.9 |
|
|
|
50.0 |
|
|
|
(11.3 |
) |
|
|
(27.6 |
) |
|
|
48.1 |
|
N/A = not applicable.
Notes:
|
|
(1) |
The number of peak concurrent users in a given period for a
country in which Ragnarok Online is commercially offered
represents the highest number of users simultaneously logged on
to our games servers during that period in that country.
The aggregate monthly number of peak concurrent users is
computed by adding the number of peak concurrent users for a
given month in all of the countries in which Ragnarok Online is
commercially offered. The aggregate number of peak concurrent
users for any longer period represents the highest aggregate
monthly peak concurrent user number within that given period.
The number of peak concurrent users for a given month in a
country (or in the case of Taiwan and Hong Kong, Malaysia and
Singapore, or Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Turkey,
in such group of countries) is determined on the basis of
computer-generated data that shows the number of concurrent
users for such country or group of countries, as applicable, at
generally one-minute intervals. Within a given month, due to
time differences and other factors, the exact point in time at
which the peak number of concurrent users is reached may differ
from country to country. |
|
(2) |
The number of average concurrent Ragnarok Online users in a
given period represents the sum of the average number of
concurrent users for that period in Korea, Japan, Taiwan/ Hong
Kong, Thailand and China, the five key markets, in terms of
revenue contribution from Ragnarok Online, in which it is
commercially offered. The number of average concurrent users in
a given period is computed by adding the monthly average number
of concurrent users and dividing the total by the number of
months in the same period. The monthly average number of
concurrent users is computed by adding the daily average number
of concurrent users during a given month and dividing the total
by the actual number of days in that month. The daily average
number of concurrent users is generally computed by adding the
number of concurrent users selected in three-hour intervals (for
example, the number of concurrent users at 12:00 am, 3:00 am,
6:00 am, 9:00 am, 12:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm on a
given day) and dividing it by eight. In certain limited
situations, for example, when our servers are down for
maintenance or updates or when our monitoring server fails to
maintain connection to our game servers, the number of our
concurrent users at such time will appear as zero.
We have adjusted the daily average number of concurrent users to
remove this information from our computation. Within a given
period, due to time differences and other factors, the exact
points in time used to calculate the average number of
concurrent users may differ from country to country. |
|
(3) |
Gross profit margin is calculated as gross profit divided by
total revenues. |
|
(4) |
Operating profit margin is calculated as operating income (loss)
divided by total revenues. |
|
(5) |
Net profit margin is calculated as net income (loss) divided by
total revenues. |
|
(6) |
Revenue growth is calculated as quarterly total revenues less
total revenues from the prior quarter, as a percentage of the
prior quarter total revenues. |
|
(7) |
Net income growth is calculated as quarterly net income less net
income from the prior quarter, as a percentage of the prior
quarter net income. |
51
Recent Accounting Changes
No material change.
Critical Accounting Policies
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and
results of operations are based upon our financial statements,
which have been prepared in accordance with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States. The
preparation of these financial statements requires us to make
estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported
amounts of assets and liabilities, contingent liabilities, and
revenue and expenses during the reporting period. We evaluate
our estimates on an ongoing basis based on historical experience
and other assumptions we believe are reasonable under the
circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making
judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities
that are not readily apparent from other sources. The policies
discussed below are considered by our management to be critical
because they are not only important to the portrayal of our
financial condition and results of operations but also because
application and interpretation of these policies require both
judgment and estimates of matters that are inherently uncertain
and unknown. As a result, actual results may differ materially
from our estimates.
We derive, and expect to continue to generate, most of our
revenues from online game subscription fees paid by users in
Korea, and royalties and license fees paid by our licensees in
the overseas markets. Our revenues can be classified into the
following four categories: (i) online games
subscription revenue; (ii) online games
royalties and license fees; (iii) mobile games; and
(iv) character merchandising, animation and other revenue.
For details, see Overview Revenue
recognition.
We recognize revenue in accordance with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States, as set forth in
Securities and Exchange Commission Staff Accounting
Bulletin No. 104, Revenue Recognition, and
other related pronouncements.
|
|
|
Allowances for doubtful accounts |
We maintain allowances for doubtful accounts receivable for
estimated losses that result from the inability of our customers
to make required payments. We base our allowances on the
likelihood of recoverability of accounts receivable based on
past experience and current collection trends. Allowances for
accounts receivable generally arise when individual PC account
subscribers who elect to make their payments through their
fixed-line or mobile phone service provider fail to make such
payment. We record allowances for doubtful accounts based on
historical payment patterns of our customers and increase our
allowances as the length of time such receivables become past
due increases.
We use the services of several collection agencies to facilitate
and manage the collection of our accounts receivables. Effective
July 1, 2003, we changed our arrangement with these
collection agencies so that we no longer assume any collection
risk.
|
|
|
Capitalized software development costs |
We account for capitalized software development costs in
accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards
(SFAS) No. 86, Accounting for the Costs of
Computer Software to be Sold, Leased, or Otherwise Marketed.
Software development costs incurred prior to the establishment
of technological feasibility are expensed when incurred and
treated as research and development, or R&D, expenses. Once
the game has reached technological feasibility, all subsequent
software development costs for that product are capitalized
until it is released for sale. Technological feasibility is
evaluated on a product-by-product basis, but typically occurs
once the online game has a proven ability to operate on a
massively multi-player level. After the game is commercially
released, the capitalized product development costs are
amortized and expensed over the games estimated useful
life, which is deemed to be three years. This expense is
recorded as a component of cost of revenues.
We evaluate the recoverability of capitalized software
development costs on a product-by product basis. Capitalized
costs for those products whose further development or sale is
terminated are expensed in the period of
52
cancellation. In addition, a charge to cost of revenues is
recorded when managements forecast for a particular game
indicates that unamortized capitalized costs exceed the net
realizable value of that asset.
Significant management judgments and estimates are required to
assess the timing of technological feasibility as well as the
ongoing recoverability of capitalized costs.
We account for income taxes under the provisions of
SFAS No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes.
Under SFAS No. 109, income taxes are accounted for
under the asset and liability method.
Management judgment is required in determining our provision for
income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities and the extent
to which deferred tax assets can be recognized. A valuation
allowance is provided for deferred tax assets to the extent that
it is more likely than not that such deferred tax assets will
not be realized. Realization of future tax benefits related to
the deferred tax assets is dependent on many factors, including
our ability to generate taxable income within the period during
which the temporary differences reverse, the outlook for the
economic environment in which the business operates, and the
overall future industry outlook.
Based on our review of these factors, as of December 31,
2001 and 2002, we concluded that the historical losses presented
sufficient evidence to require a full valuation allowance on the
deferred tax assets. However, as of December 31, 2003,
there was sufficient taxable income to support the reversal of
this allowance.
As described in Overview Income
tax expenses, we enjoyed in 2004 a reduced tax rate of
14.85%, which is 50% of the statutory tax rate and applied to
certain designated venture companies. In 2005, while we will
reapply for our designation as a venture company, it is
uncertain as to whether we will obtain this designation.
However, even if we cease to enjoy the 50% reduction in
corporate income tax rate in 2005, we will instead be entitled
to a special tax exemption of 10% in corporate income tax rate
for the fiscal year 2005 by virtue of being a small- and
medium-sized company. Accordingly, deferred income taxes as of
December 31, 2004 were calculated based on the rate of
24.75% and 27.50% for the amounts expected to be realized during
the fiscal year 2005 and 2006 and thereafter, respectively.
Results of Operations
The following table summarizes our results of operations for the
periods indicated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, | |
|
|
| |
|
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2004(1) | |
|
% Change | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Unaudited) | |
|
|
|
|
(In millions of Won and thousands of US$, | |
|
|
except percentages) | |
Revenues:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Online games subscription revenue
|
|
W |
18,560 |
|
|
W |
16,253 |
|
|
$ |
15,702 |
|
|
|
(12.4 |
)% |
|
Online games royalties and license fees
|
|
|
22,804 |
|
|
|
44,236 |
|
|
|
42,736 |
|
|
|
94.0 |
|
|
Mobile games
|
|
|
43 |
|
|
|
480 |
|
|
|
464 |
|
|
|
N/M |
|
|
Character merchandising, animation and other revenue
|
|
|
1,024 |
|
|
|
3,471 |
|
|
|
3,353 |
|
|
|
239.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total revenues
|
|
|
42,431 |
|
|
|
64,440 |
|
|
|
62,255 |
|
|
|
51.9 |
|
Cost of revenues
|
|
|
6,866 |
|
|
|
10,309 |
|
|
|
9,959 |
|
|
|
50.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross profit
|
|
|
35,565 |
|
|
|
54,131 |
|
|
|
52,296 |
|
|
|
52.2 |
|
|
Gross profit margin(2)
|
|
|
83.8 |
% |
|
|
84.0 |
% |
|
|
84.0 |
% |
|
|
|
|
Operating expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Selling, general and administrative
|
|
|
11,115 |
|
|
|
13,719 |
|
|
|
13,253 |
|
|
|
23.4 |
|
|
Research and development
|
|
|
1,597 |
|
|
|
2,030 |
|
|
|
1,962 |
|
|
|
27.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total operating expenses
|
|
|
12,712 |
|
|
|
15,749 |
|
|
|
15,215 |
|
|
|
23.9 |
|
Operating income
|
|
|
22,853 |
|
|
|
38,382 |
|
|
|
37,081 |
|
|
|
68.0 |
|
|
Operating profit margin(3)
|
|
|
53.9 |
% |
|
|
59.6 |
% |
|
|
59.6 |
% |
|
|
|
|
53
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, | |
|
|
| |
|
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2004(1) | |
|
% Change | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Unaudited) | |
|
|
|
|
(In millions of Won and thousands of US$, | |
|
|
except percentages) | |
Other income (expense):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest income
|
|
|
94 |
|
|
|
479 |
|
|
|
463 |
|
|
|
409.6 |
|
|
Interest expense
|
|
|
(5,947 |
) |
|
|
(4,309 |
) |
|
|
(4,163 |
) |
|
|
(27.5 |
) |
|
Foreign currency gains
|
|
|
418 |
|
|
|
336 |
|
|
|
325 |
|
|
|
(19.6 |
) |
|
Foreign currency losses
|
|
|
(240 |
) |
|
|
(1,052 |
) |
|
|
(1,016 |
) |
|
|
338.3 |
|
|
Others, net
|
|
|
26 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
N/M |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total net other income (expense)
|
|
|
(5,649 |
) |
|
|
(4,548 |
) |
|
|
(4,393 |
) |
|
|
(19.5 |
) |
Income before income tax expenses, minority interest, and losses
from equity method investee
|
|
|
17,204 |
|
|
|
33,834 |
|
|
|
32,688 |
|
|
|
96.7 |
|
|
Income tax expenses
|
|
|
2,535 |
|
|
|
4,402 |
|
|
|
4,253 |
|
|
|
73.6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income before minority interest and losses from equity method
investee
|
|
|
14,669 |
|
|
|
29,432 |
|
|
|
28,435 |
|
|
|
100.6 |
|
|
Minority interest(4)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(17 |
) |
|
|
(16 |
) |
|
|
N/M |
|
|
Equity in loss of related joint venture(5)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
248 |
|
|
|
240 |
|
|
|
N/M |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net income
|
|
W |
14,669 |
|
|
W |
29,201 |
|
|
$ |
28,211 |
|
|
|
99.1 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
N/ M = not meaningful
Notes:
|
|
(1) |
For convenience, the Won amounts are expressed in
U.S. dollars at the rate of W1,035.1 to US$1.00, the noon
buying rate in effect on December 31, 2004, as announced by
the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. |
|
(2) |
Gross profit margin is calculated as gross profit divided by
total revenues. |
|
(3) |
Operating profit margin is calculated as operating income
divided by total revenues. |
|
(4) |
Represents the minority interest in GRAVITY Entertainment
Corporation, our Japanese subsidiary. We acquired the remaining
50% of voting equity interest in RO Production in October 2004,
resulting in RO Production becoming our wholly-owned
subsidiary. |
|
(5) |
Represents the losses from our 30% equity investment in
Animation Production Committee, a Japanese joint venture to
produce and market Ragnarok the Animation through
GRAVITY Entertainment Corporation, our Japanese subsidiary. This
investment was accounted for using the equity method of
accounting. |
Our total revenues increased by 51.9% to W64,440 million
(US$62,255 thousand) in 2004 from W42,431 million in 2003,
primarily due to:
|
|
|
|
|
an increase in royalties and license fees from Ragnarok Online
to W44,236 million (US$42,736 thousand) in 2004 from
W22,804 million in 2003, which primarily resulted from an
increase in royalties from the overseas markets in which
Ragnarok Online had already been commercialized and the
commercialization of Ragnarok Online in new markets. During the
periods under review, the increase in revenue attributable to
existing markets was W19,974 million and attributable to an
entry into new markets was W1,458 million. In April 2004,
we commercialized Ragnarok Online in Singapore and Malaysia,
from which we derived revenue of W982 million, and in the
five European countries in April 2004, from which we derived
revenue of W441 million, in each case in 2004. In December
2004, we commercialized Ragnarok Online in Australia and New
Zealand, from which we derived revenue of W35 million in
2004; and |
|
|
|
a 239.0% increase in character merchandising, animation and
other revenue to W3,471 million (US$3,353 thousand) in 2004
from W1,024 million in 2003, which resulted primarily from
a 98.0% increase in character merchandising revenue to
W2,028 million (US$1,959 thousand) in 2004 from
W1,024 million in 2003 and W1,093 million (US$1,056)
in revenue from animation in 2004 compared to none in 2003; |
54
|
|
|
|
|
a 12.4% decrease in subscription revenue to W16,253 million
(US$15,702 thousand) in 2004 from W18,560 million in 2003.
This 12.4% decrease resulted primarily from a 21.4% decrease in
subscription revenue in Korea from Ragnarok Online to
W12,725 million (US$12,294 thousand) in 2004 from
W16,186 million in 2003, mainly due to a decrease in
playing time by our users of Ragnarok Online in Korea. This
decrease was partially offset by a 48.6% increase in the
subscription revenue in the United States to W3,528 million
(US$3,408 thousand) in 2004 from W2,374 million in
2003. |
Our cost of revenues increased by 50.1% to W10,309 million
(US$9,959 thousand) in 2004 from W6,866 million in 2003,
which was primarily due to:
|
|
|
|
|
a 63.4% increase in salaries and wages to W4,403 million
(US$4,254 thousand) in 2004 from W2,695 million in 2003,
which mainly resulted from an increased hiring of game
developers and overseas support staff from 130 as of
December 31, 2003 to 174 as of December 31, 2004; |
|
|
|
a 71.2% increase in fee payments to W1,881 million
(US$1,817 thousand) in 2004 from W1,099 million in 2003,
which mainly resulted from an increase in fees we paid to
Mr. Myoung-Jin Lee and server housing fees we paid to the
KIDC; and |
|
|
|
a 45.2% increase in depreciation to W1,606 million
(US$1,552 thousand) in 2004 from W1,106 million in 2003,
which mainly resulted from the addition of servers and software
in 2004 to better service Ragnarok Online. |
As a result of the foregoing, our gross profit increased by
52.2% to W54,131 million (US$52,296 thousand) in 2004 from
W35,565 million in 2003. Our gross profit margin increased
to 84.0% in 2004 from 83.8% in 2003.
Selling, general and administrative expenses. Our
selling, general and administrative expenses increased by 23.4%
to W13,719 million (US$13,253 thousand) in 2004 from
W11,115 million in 2003, primarily due to:
|
|
|
|
|
a 81.6% increase in salaries and wages to W3,156 million
(US$3,049 thousand) in 2004 from W1,738 million in 2003,
primarily as a result of an increase in the number of employees
for administrative and other support functions from 86 in 2003
to 148 in 2004; |
|
|
|
a 173.4% increase in depreciation expense to W1,028 million
(US$993 thousand) in 2004 from W376 million in 2003, which
mainly resulted from depreciation attributable to leasehold
improvements in property and the addition of servers for the
introduction of R.O.S.E. Online; and |
|
|
|
a 7.7% increase in advertising expenses to W4,614 million
(US$4,458 thousand) in 2004 from W4,285 million in 2003,
which resulted from the hosting of the Ragnarok World
Championship in August 2004, a significant increase in marketing
expenses related to the introduction of R.O.S.E. Online and our
participation in the Tokyo Game Show in September 2004. |
Research and development expenses. Our research and
development expenses increased 27.1% to W2,030 million
(US$1,962 thousand) in 2004 from W1,597 million in 2003,
primarily due to expensing of all costs, including salaries and
wages, and provision for severance indemnities, relating to the
development of Requiem and Ragnarok Online 2.
|
|
|
Operating income and operating margin |
As a result of the cumulative effects of the reasons stated
above, our operating income increased 68.0% to
W38,382 million (US$37,081 thousand) in 2004 from
W22,853 million in 2003, and our operating margin improved
to 59.6% in 2004 from 53.9% in 2003.
55
|
|
|
Net other income (expense) |
Our net other expense decreased 19.5% to W4,548 million
(US$4,393 thousand) in 2004 from W5,649 million in 2003
primarily due to:
|
|
|
|
|
a 27.5% decrease in interest expense from W5,947 million in
2003 to W4,309 million (US$4,163 thousand) in 2004 as a
result of reduction in payment rates on the loan from Sunny YNK,
effective in April 2003, from 50% of all revenues from Ragnarok
Online to 20% for domestic adjusted revenues and to 10% for
overseas adjusted revenues from Ragnarok Online despite the
significant increase in such revenues; and |
|
|
|
an increase in interest income from W94 million in 2003 to
W479 million (US$463 thousand) in 2004 resulting from an
increase in short-term financial instruments in 2004 |
|
|
|
|
|
an increase in loss in foreign currency transaction from
W240 million in 2003 to W1,052 million (US$1,016
thousand) in 2004 resulting from the appreciation of the Korean
Won against the U.S. dollar. |
We recorded income tax expenses of W4,402 million (US$4,253
thousand) in 2004, as compared to W2,535 million in 2003.
Our income tax expenses increased as a result of an increase in
our taxable income, in particular, royalties and license fees
from revenues generated in overseas markets. In both 2003 and
2004, however, we were entitled to a reduced tax rate of 14.85%
by virtue of the Special Tax Treatment Control Law of Korea.
Minority interest represents the net loss from GRAVITY
Entertainment Corporation, our Japanese subsidiary, which is
attributable to the third-party minority interest holders. In
October 2004, we acquired the remaining minority interest in
GRAVITY Entertainment Corporation.
|
|
|
Equity in loss of related joint venture |
Equity in loss of related joint venture represents the 30% of
the net loss incurred from Animation Production Committee, the
Japanese animation joint venture in which we, through GRAVITY
Entertainment Corporation, our Japanese subsidiary, made a 30%
equity investment. This investment was accounted for using the
equity method of accounting.
As a result of the cumulative effects of the reasons stated
above, our net income increased 99.1% to W29,201 million
(US$28,211 thousand) in 2004 from W14,669 million in 2003.
56
The following table summarizes our results of operations for the
periods indicated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, | |
|
|
| |
|
|
2002 | |
|
2003 | |
|
% Change | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Won and thousands of | |
|
|
US$, except percentages) | |
Revenues:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Online games subscription revenue
|
|
W |
7,310 |
|
|
W |
18,560 |
|
|
|
153.9 |
% |
|
Online games royalties and license fees
|
|
|
2,079 |
|
|
|
22,804 |
|
|
|
996.9 |
|
|
Mobile games
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
43 |
|
|
|
N/M |
|
|
Character merchandising, animation and other revenue
|
|
|
427 |
|
|
|
1,024 |
|
|
|
139.8 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total revenues
|
|
|
9,816 |
|
|
|
42,431 |
|
|
|
332.3 |
|
Cost of revenues
|
|
|
1,735 |
|
|
|
6,866 |
|
|
|
295.7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross profit
|
|
|
8,081 |
|
|
|
35,565 |
|
|
|
340.1 |
|
|
Gross profit margin(1)
|
|
|
82.3 |
% |
|
|
83.8 |
% |
|
|
|
|
Operating expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Selling, general and administrative
|
|
|
4,956 |
|
|
|
11,115 |
|
|
|
124.3 |
|
|
Research and development
|
|
|
815 |
|
|
|
1,597 |
|
|
|
96.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total operating expenses
|
|
|
5,771 |
|
|
|
12,712 |
|
|
|
120.3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating income
|
|
|
2,310 |
|
|
|
22,853 |
|
|
|
889.3 |
|
|
Operating profit margin(2)
|
|
|
23.5 |
% |
|
|
53.9 |
% |
|
|
|
|
Other income (expense):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest income
|
|
|
84 |
|
|
|
94 |
|
|
|
11.9 |
|
|
Interest expense
|
|
|
(2,480 |
) |
|
|
(5,947 |
) |
|
|
139.8 |
|
|
Foreign currency gains
|
|
|
75 |
|
|
|
418 |
|
|
|
457.3 |
|
|
Foreign currency losses
|
|
|
(17 |
) |
|
|
(240 |
) |
|
|
1,311.8 |
|
|
Others, net
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
26 |
|
|
|
N/M |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total net other income (expense)
|
|
|
(2,339 |
) |
|
|
(5,649 |
) |
|
|
141.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income before income tax expenses
|
|
|
(29 |
) |
|
|
17,204 |
|
|
|
N/M |
|
Income tax expenses
|
|
|
467 |
|
|
|
2,535 |
|
|
|
442.8 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net income (loss)
|
|
W |
(496 |
) |
|
W |
14,669 |
|
|
|
N/M |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
N/ M = not meaningful.
Notes:
|
|
(1) |
Gross profit margin is calculated as gross profit divided by
total revenues. |
|
(2) |
Operating profit margin is calculated as operating income (loss)
divided by total revenues. |
Our total revenues increased by 332.3% to W42,431 million
in 2003 from W9,816 million in 2002, primarily due to:
|
|
|
|
|
an increase in royalties and license fees from Ragnarok Online
to W22,804 million in 2003 from W2,079 million in
2002, which primarily resulted from substantial increases in
royalties from overseas markets, primarily due to the full year
of commercial availability of Ragnarok Online in Taiwan and
Japan in 2003 as compared to only a few months in 2002 and
generation of revenues from markets we newly entered in 2003,
mainly Thailand and China; and |
|
|
|
a 153.9% increase in subscription revenue, primarily
representing the increase in domestic subscriptions from
Ragnarok Online, which reflects the recording of revenues from
Ragnarok Online for the full year of 2003 as compared to five
months in 2002 following the commercial launch of Ragnarok
Online in August 2002. |
57
Our cost of revenues increased by 295.7% to W6,866 million
in 2003 from W1,735 million in 2002, which was primarily
due to:
|
|
|
|
|
a 360.7% increase in salary and wages to W2,695 million in
2003 from W585 million in 2002 resulting from an increase
in the number of game developers and overseas support staff from
92 in 2002 to 130 in connection with significant hiring for game
development and support; |
|
|
|
a 702.2% increase in fee payments to W1,099 million in 2003
from W137 million in 2002, which mainly resulted from
increases in fees payable to Mr. Myoung-Jin Lee, Web
hosting costs, server housing fees to KIDC and software
maintenance costs; and |
|
|
|
a 162.1% increase in depreciation to W1,106 million in 2003
from W422 million in 2002, which mainly resulted from the
purchase of servers and, to a lesser extent, personal computers
in 2003. |
As a result of the foregoing, our gross profit increased by
340.1% to W35,565 million in 2003 from W8,081 million
in 2002. Our gross profit margin increased to 83.8% in 2003 from
82.3% in 2002.
Selling, general and administrative expenses. Our
selling, general and administrative expenses increased by 124.3%
to W11,115 million in 2003 from W4,956 million in
2002, primarily due to:
|
|
|
|
|
a 198.6% increase in advertising expenses to W4,285 million
in 2003 from W1,435 million in 2002, which mainly resulted
from the introduction of increased marketing campaigns,
including online and celebrity marketing; |
|
|
|
a 113.2% increase in fee payments consisting of fees paid to
payment service providers and sales commissions paid to
promotional agents distributing Ragnarok Online to Internet
cafés to W2,624 million in 2003 from
W1,231 million in 2002, primarily due to an increase in
revenue in Korea; |
|
|
|
a 119.7% increase in salaries and wages to W1,738 million
in 2003 from W791 million in 2002, primarily as a result of
increase in the average number of employees during the periods
under review; and |
|
|
|
our recording an impairment loss of W777 million in 2003,
resulting from our W1 billion cash investment in an online
game portal business in May 2003. In December 2003, due to poor
performance and operating results, we sought to nullify the
investment arrangement and recovered W223 million in cash
and recorded the remaining W777 million as impairment loss. |
Research and development expenses. Since technological
feasibility had not yet been reached with respect to R.O.S.E.
Online, Requiem and Ragnarok Online 2, our research and
development expenses increased 96.0% to W1,597 million in
2003 from W815 million in 2002, primarily due to expensing
of all costs, including salaries and wages and provision for
severance indemnities, relating to the licensing of R.O.S.E.
Online and development of Ragnarok Online 2 and Requiem.
|
|
|
Operating income and operating profit margin |
As a result of the cumulative effects of the reasons stated
above, we recorded operating income of W22,853 million in
2003, as compared to operating income of W2,310 million in
2002, and our operating margin improved to 53.9% in 2003 from
23.5% in 2002.
Our net other expense increased 141.5% to W5,649 million in
2003 from to W2,339 million in 2002 primarily due to a
139.8% increase in interest expense to W5,947 million in
2003 from W2,480 million, resulting primarily from a 133.8%
increase in payments to Sunny YNK to W5,738 million in 2003
from to W2,454 million, which are linked to our revenues
based on Ragnarok Online, which significantly increased in 2003
compared to 2002 as described above. See
Overview Foreign currency
effects.
58
Our income tax expenses increased as a result of an increase in
our taxable income. In 2003, however, we were entitled to a
reduced tax rate of 14.85% by virtue of the Special Tax
Treatment Control Law of Korea. Applying this reduced tax rate,
we recorded income tax expenses of W2,535 million in 2003.
As a result of the cumulative effects of the reasons stated
above, we recorded net income of W14,669 million in 2003,
as compared to net loss of W496 million in 2002.
In view of our brief operating history, we believe that
inflation in Korea and our other principal markets has not had a
material impact on our results of operations. Inflation in Korea
was 4.1% in 2001, 2.7% in 2002, 3.6% in 2003 and 3.6% in 2004.
|
|
|
Impact of foreign currency fluctuations |
See Item 11 Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures
about Market Risk.
|
|
|
Government, Economic, Fiscal, Monetary or Political
Policies or Factors |
See Item 3.D. Risk Factors Risks Related
to The Republic of Korea, Item 4.B. Business
Overview Laws and Regulations and
Item 10.E. Taxation.
|
|
5.B. |
Liquidity and Capital Resources |
The following table sets forth the summary of our cash flows for
the periods indicated:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, | |
|
|
| |
|
|
2001 | |
|
2002 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2004(1) | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period
|
|
W |
39 |
|
|
W |
1,820 |
|
|
W |
560 |
|
|
W |
5,405 |
|
|
US $ |
5,220 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net cash provided by operating activities
|
|
|
922 |
|
|
|
(4,314 |
) |
|
|
15,717 |
|
|
|
32,634 |
|
|
|
31,528 |
|
Net cash used in investing activities
|
|
|
(589 |
) |
|
|
(3,520 |
) |
|
|
(10,564 |
) |
|
|
(19,007 |
) |
|
|
(18,361 |
) |
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
|
|
|
1,448 |
|
|
|
6,574 |
|
|
|
(308 |
) |
|
|
(2,627 |
) |
|
|
(2,538 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
|
|
|
1,781 |
|
|
|
(1,260 |
) |
|
|
4,845 |
|
|
|
11,000 |
|
|
|
10,629 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period
|
|
W |
1,820 |
|
|
W |
560 |
|
|
W |
5,405 |
|
|
W |
16,405 |
|
|
US $ |
15,849 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note:
|
|
(1) |
For convenience, the Korean Won amounts are expressed in
U.S. dollars at the rate of W1,035.1 to US$1.00, the noon
buying rate in effect on December 31, 2004 as quoted by the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York. |
Prior to the commercial launch of Ragnarok Online, our principal
sources of liquidity were cash from equity financing and
incurrence of debt, including the debt we incurred from Sunny
YNK. Following the commercial launch of Ragnarok Online, our
principal sources of liquidity have been cash flows from our
operating activities and equity financing and, to a lesser
extent, short-term borrowings. Net cash used in investing
activities have consisted primarily of investments in game
engines, network servers and, to a lesser extent, personal
computers. As a result, our net property and equipment increased
from W5,694 million as of December 31, 2003 to
W14,951 million (US$14,444 thousand) as of
December 31, 2004.
In order to resolve short-term liquidity issues that may arise
from time to time in the course of our business, we have in the
past obtained short-term borrowings at market rates from other
game developers. In February
59
2003, we obtained a loan of W3 billion at an annual
interest rate of 18% from IAMBiz Co., Ltd., which subsequently
changed its name to Rhoceo Co., Ltd., to satisfy short-term
liquidity needs relating to marketing and promotional activities
for Ragnarok Online and for working capital. In September 2003,
we fully repaid this loan with positive cash flow generated by
Ragnarok Online. Since then, we have not incurred any additional
short-term borrowing and no short-term borrowings were
outstanding as of December 31, 2004. In order to resolve
long-term liquidity issues, we have traditionally resorted to
the issuance of equity securities such as the rights offering
that we conducted in March 2003. In 2002, in order to resolve
long-term liquidity issues prior to the commercial launch of
Ragnarok Online, we entered into an exclusive distribution
agreement with Sunny YNK pursuant to which we received a lump
sum payment in the amount of W7,000 million at the
inception of the agreement, which we recorded as debt on our
balance sheet. Since then, we have been able to satisfy our
liquidity needs with cash flow from operations and do not expect
to enter into such arrangements in the future. Our cash
investment policy emphasizes liquidity and preservation of
principal over other portfolio considerations. We deposit our
cash in demand deposits, short-term financial instruments, which
primarily consist of time deposits with maturity of one year or
less, and money market funds with a rolling maturity of
90 days or less. Our short-term financial instruments
increased from nil as of December 31, 2002 to
W1,600 million as of December 31, 2003 and to
W8,900 million (US$8,598 thousand) as of December 31,
2004 primarily as a result of increased net cash from our
operations during the period.
Cash received in the form of initial license fees are recognized
as revenues on a monthly basis over the life of our license
agreements as described in Item 5.A.
Overview Revenue
recognition. The portion of initial license fees not yet
recognized as revenues are reflected in our balance sheet as
deferred income. Our total deferred income, both short-term and
long-term, decreased from W1,542 million as of
December 31, 2002 to 3,051 million as of
December 31, 2003 and to W6,310 million (US$6,096
thousand) as of December 31, 2004 primarily due to our
recognizing an increased portion of initial license fees that we
received in 2002, 2003 and 2004 as revenues.
Cash flows from operating activities. Our increase in net
cash provided by operating activities from 2001 to 2004 was
primarily the result of our recording net income in 2003 and
2004 compared to net losses in 2001 and 2002. Our increase in
net cash provided by operating activities in 2003 also reflected
an adjustment of W1,638 million for depreciation and
amortization. This increase was partially offset by
W994 million in deferred income taxes that we recorded in
2003. Our increase in net cash provided by operating activities
in 2004 reflected an adjustment of W3,303 million
(US$3,191 thousand) for depreciation and amortization, of
W3,260 million (US$3,149 thousand) for deferred income
from the renewal of sales contract, and of W913 million
(US$882 thousand) for provision for accrued severance
benefits. This increase was partially offset by
W2,093 million (US$2,024 thousand) in deferred income taxes
that we recorded in 2004. The increases in deferred expense and
accounts payable on our balance sheet as of December 31,
2004 primarily reflected the fees that we incurred in connection
with our initial public offering on NASDAQ in the amount of
W1,735 million (US$1,676 thousand), which were unpaid
as of December 31, 2004, and then paid in full in February
and May 2005.
Cash flows from investing activities. Our increase in net
cash used in investing activities from 2001 to 2004 reflected
purchases of property and equipment in these years in connection
with the general growth of our businesses and the increase in
payment of leasehold deposits. In addition, our net cash used in
investing activities in 2003 and 2004 reflected our investment
of our excess cash in short-term financial instruments in the
amount of W2,200 million in 2003 and W7,300 million
(US$7,052 thousand) in 2004, investment of W1 billion in a
game portal business and acquisition of golf membership in the
amount of W892 million in 2003, and an investment of
W1,243 million (US$1,201 thousand) through our Japan
subsidiary in the Animation Production Committee, a joint
venture for the production and marketing of Ragnarok the
Animation, in 2004. In March 2004, we entered into an agreement
to purchase from Choongang Mutual Savings Bank an office
building to house part of our headquarters for
W8,150 million in cash, which has been fully paid.
Cash flows from financing activities. Our net cash
provided by financing activities has been primarily affected by
the issuance of common shares in 2003 and the incurrence of debt
from Sunny YNK in 2002. In March 2003, we received net proceeds
of W3,206 million from the sale of 2,148,900 common shares at
W1,500 per share. Our net cash provided by financing
activities in 2001 and 2002 consisted of proceeds from the
issuances of common stock, consisting of 600,000 shares in
January 2001, 1,200,000 shares in October 2001 and
600,000 shares in January 2002, each at W500 per
share. In February and April 2002, we entered into agreements
60
with Sunny YNK pursuant to which we granted it the
exclusive right to distribute Ragnarok Online for a contractual
period of three years from the date Ragnarok Online was first
commercialized. In consideration, we received a lump sum payment
in the amount of W7,000 million at the inception of these
agreements, which we recorded as debt on our balance sheet.
As our overseas operations are conducted primarily through our
subsidiaries and our overseas licensees, our ability to finance
our operations and any debt that we or our subsidiaries may
incur depends, in part, on the payment of royalties and other
fees by our overseas licensees and, to a lesser extent, the flow
of dividends from our subsidiaries.
As of December 31, 2004, our primary source of liquidity
was W16,405 million (US$15,849 thousand) of cash and
cash equivalents. We believe that our available cash and cash
equivalents and net cash provided by operating activities, will
be sufficient to meet our capital needs for at least the next
12 months. However, we cannot assure you that our business
or operations will not change in a manner that would consume
available capital resources more rapidly than anticipated. We
may, however, require additional cash resources due to changed
business conditions or other future developments, including any
significant investments or acquisitions. If these sources are
insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to
sell additional securities either in the form of equity or debt.
In the past, we raised cash resources through the issuance of
common shares. See note 11 to our audited consolidated
financial statements as of December 31, 2003 and 2004 and
for the years ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004. The
sale of additional equity securities or convertible debt
securities could result in additional dilution to our
shareholders. In the past, we also raised cash by entering into
indebtedness arrangements such as the transaction entered into
with Sunny YNK as described in Item 5.A.
Overview Interest expense.
In addition, we may seek to incur indebtedness through the
issuance of debt securities or by obtaining a credit facility.
The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt
service obligations and could result in operating and financial
covenants that would restrict operations. As of
December 31, 2004, we had no lines of credit or other
credit facilities. We also have not entered into any material
financial guarantees or similar commitments to guarantee the
payment obligations of third parties. Financing may not be
available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all.
We expect to have capital expenditure requirements for the
ongoing expansion into other markets, including hardware
expenditures for continuous expansions and upgrades to our
existing server equipment, and also for game development,
acquiring and publishing third party game developers or games
developed by them and continuing to invest in enhancing our
technological, marketing, distribution and service capabilities.
We believe that our internal cash flow from operations, together
with our proceeds from our initial public offering in February
2005 will be sufficient to satisfy our working capital
requirements through at least the first quarter of 2006,
including our new game development expenditures for Requiem and
Ragnarok Online 2.
5.C. Research and Development,
Patents and Licenses, etc.
See Item 5.A. Business Overview Game
development and publishing for our research and
development.
Our intellectual property is an essential element of our
business operations. We rely on copyright, trademark, trade
secret and other intellectual property law, as well as
non-competition, confidentiality and license agreements with our
employees, suppliers, licensees, business partners and others to
protect our intellectual property rights. Our employees are
generally required to sign agreements acknowledging that all
inventions, trade secrets, works of authorship, developments and
other processes generated by them on our behalf are our
property, and assigning to us any ownership rights that they may
claim in those works. With respect to copyrights and computer
program rights created by our employees within their employment
scope and which are made public bearing our name, we are not
required to pay any additional compensation to our employees.
In developing Ragnarok Online, we obtained an exclusive license
from Mr. Myoung-Jin Lee to use the storyline and characters
from his cartoon titled Ragnarok for the production
of online games, animation and character merchandising. See
Item 4.B. Business Overview Our
products Massively multiplayer online role playing
games Massively multiplayer online role playing
games currently offered Ragnarok Online above.
61
We are the registered owner of two registered software
copyrights to Ragnarok Online and Arcturus, a PC-based game,
each of which we have registered with the Program Deliberation
and Mediation Committee of Korea. As of December 31, 2004,
we owned over 32 registered domain names, including our
official website and domain names registered in connection with
each of the games we offer. We also had registered trademarks
and trademark applications pending at patent and trademark
offices in 15 countries covering eight discrete trademarks, two
design patents and three analogous design patents, which are
variations of the two design patents, registered with the Korea
Intellectual Property Office, and registered copyrights covering
11 game characters, in each case as of December 31,
2004.
5.D. Trend Information
Trends, uncertainties and events which could have a material
impact on our sales, operating revenues and liquidity and
capital resources are discussed above in Item 5.A.
Operating Results and Item 5.B.
Liquidity and Capital Resources.
5.E. Off-Balance Sheet
Arrangements
As of December 31, 2004, we did not have any outstanding
derivative financial instruments, off-balance sheet guarantees,
interest rate swap transactions or foreign currency forward
contracts. We do not engage in trading activities involving
non-exchange traded contracts. In 2005, we began entering into
derivatives arrangements to hedge against the risk of foreign
currency fluctuations. As of June 29, 2005, we had foreign
currency forward contracts outstanding in the aggregate notional
amount of US$70 million. See Item 11
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market
Risk.
5.F. Contractual Obligations
We have financed our operations primarily through incurrence of
debt from third parties, such as Sunny YNK, cash flows from
operations as well as equity investments by our founder and
current shareholders. The following table sets forth a summary
of our contractual cash obligations due by period as of
December 31, 2004.
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Payments Due by Period | |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Between 1 | |
|
Between 3 | |
|
|
|
|
Up to | |
|
and | |
|
and | |
|
Beyond | |
|
|
|
|
1 Year | |
|
3 Years | |
|
5 Years | |
|
5 Years | |
|
Total | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Won) | |
Long-term debt obligations
|
|
W |
1,278 |
|
|
W |
|
|
|
W |
|
|
|
W |
|
|
|
W |
1,278 |
|
Operating lease obligations
|
|
|
728 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
733 |
|
Purchase obligations(1)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
W |
2,006 |
|
|
W |
5 |
|
|
W |
|
|
|
W |
|
|
|
W |
2,011 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note:
|
|
(1) |
As of December 31, 2004, we incurred no purchase
obligations. |
Our long-term debt obligations represent the outstanding balance
as of December 31, 2004 of the debt we incurred from Sunny
YNK in 2002 pursuant to the transaction entered into with Sunny
YNK as described in Overview
Interest expense. All of this amount is due within one
year since our agreement with Sunny YNK expires in July
2005, at which time we expect all of the principal amount to
have been repaid and we will no longer be obligated to make
payments to Sunny YNK. As there is no interest rate stated
in the agreement with Sunny YNK, the interest is imputed
based on the difference between the principal amount of the loan
and the total payments expected to be made pursuant to the
agreement. Accordingly, the repayment of principal balance to
Sunny YNK is variable each year in accordance with the amount of
annual revenue generated from distribution of RAGNAROK and
deduction of annual interest expense allocated using the
interest rate method. We do not plan to extend or renew this
arrangement.
Our contractual cash obligations consist of operating leases for
office space. The lease payments due by December 31, 2005
will be W678 million, W23 million and W27 million
for our principal offices in Seoul, U.S. subsidiary and
Japan subsidiary respectively. The lease terms expire December
2005, April 2005 and
62
February 2006 for our principal offices in Seoul,
U.S. subsidiary and Japan subsidiary respectively. The
renewal terms are subject to market conditions.
For a description of our commercial commitments and contingent
liabilities, see Note 9 of the notes to our consolidated
financial statements.
As of December 31, 2004, we had no lines of credit or other
credit facilities. We also have not entered into any material
financial guarantees or similar commitments to guarantee the
payment obligations of third parties.
For a description of our legal proceedings, see Item 8
Financial Information Legal Proceedings.
|
|
ITEM 6. |
DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES |
6.A. Directors and Senior
Management
The names and positions of our directors and executive officers
are set forth below. The business address of all of our
directors and executive officers is our registered office at
Shingu Building, 620-2 Shinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu,
Seoul 135-894, Korea.
Executive Directors
|
|
|
Name |
|
Position |
|
|
|
Jung Ryool Kim
|
|
Chairman |
David Woong-Jin Yoon
|
|
Representative Director and Chief Executive Officer |
Richard Hyonkook Kim
|
|
Executive Director and Chief Strategy Officer |
Kwan Shik Seo
|
|
Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer |
Jung Ryool Kim is one of our founders and has served as
our director since our inception in April 2000 and as one of our
joint representative directors since August 2004. Mr. Kim
has never served as our Chief Executive Officer. From June 1992
to February 1995 and since August 2000, Mr. Kim has been
the representative director of Utak Co. Ltd., a game company in
Korea. He has over 25 years of experience in the game
industry and has served in many leadership positions at several
Korean game industry associations, including as president of the
Korea Amusement Machine Manufacturers Association, chairman of
the executive committee for the Korea Amuse World Game Expo
2004, and chairman of the Korea Entertainment System Industry
Association. He is also a recipient of a number of government
awards and recognitions, including awards from the Republic of
Korea and Koreas Minister of Culture and Tourism for his
contributions to exporting Korean games in 2003. Mr. Kim
graduated from the Teachers College High School of Korea
University and completed the chief executive program at Yonsei
Universitys Graduate School of Public Administration.
David Woong-Jin Yoon has served as our representative
director and chief executive officer since March 2005.
Mr. Yoon served as our independent director from December
2004 to March 2004. Prior to joining us, Mr. Yoon was the
president and chief executive officer of R&A Holdings Korea
Co., Ltd. a company specializing in investments in Korea and
overseas, since January 2004. From 2002 to January 2004,
Mr. Yoon served as the president and chief executive
officer of Crosscert, a digital security company that was formed
as a joint venture with VeriSign. From 1997 to 2002,
Mr. Yoon served as a managing director of Clarion Capital,
a private equity investment company. While at Clarion,
Mr. Yoon served as the chief executive officer of two
portfolio companies in the information technology industry. From
1994 to 1997, Mr. Yoon worked as a consultant at Boston
Consulting Group, and from 1988 to 1992, he worked as a
supervising senior accountant at KPMG. Mr. Yoon holds a
bachelors degree and a masters degree in accounting
from University of Southern California, and a masters
degree in business administration from University of
Pennsylvanias Wharton School. Mr. Yoon is a certified
public accountant in the United States.
Richard Hyonkook Kim has served as our chief strategy
officer since March 2005. Mr. Kim served as our joint
representative director and chief executive officer from August
2004 to March 2005. Prior to joining us, Mr. Kim was the
head of the Hong Kong office of Dongwon Securities Co., Ltd., a
Korean securities and investment company. From January 2001 to
February 2003, Mr. Kim was the chief financial officer of
Phantagram Interactive, a game company in Korea. From December
1998 to December 2000, Mr. Kim was the chief executive
officer of Venture Source, a consulting company. For seven years
prior to November 1998,
63
Mr. Kim held various sales positions in a number of
investment banks, including Merrill Lynch, Jardine Fleming
Securities (now part of JPMorgan Securities) and SG Securities.
Mr. Kim has over four years of experience in the game
industry. Mr. Kim holds a bachelors degree in
political science and economics from University of California,
Berkeley and a juris doctor degree from Boston College Law
School.
Kwan Shik Seo has served as our chief financial officer
and standing director since April 2004. From July 2001 to
February 2004, Mr. Seo served as chief financial officer to
Tiger Oil Corporation, an oil importer and distributor, and
Xeniss Life Science, a bio venture company. From August 1999 to
February 2000, Mr. Seo served as a director at Arthur
Anderson Korea, and from August 1985 to July 1999, he was
employed at a Korean merchant bank. Mr. Seo holds a
bachelors degree in business administration from Sogang
University and a masters degree in business administration
from Korea Banking Institute.
Independent Directors
Under the Nasdaq listing requirements, a majority of our board
of directors is required to consist of independent directors.
The independence standards under the Nasdaq rules exclude, among
others, any person who is a current or former employee of a
company (for the current year or the past three years) or of any
of its affiliates, as well as any immediate family member of an
executive officer of a listed company or of any of its
affiliates.
|
|
|
Name |
|
Position |
|
|
|
Myung Whan Suh
|
|
Independent director and audit committee member |
Chan Joong Park
|
|
Independent director and audit committee member |
So Young Choi
|
|
Independent director and audit committee member |
Jong Mahn Park
|
|
Independent director |
Mu Sik Jung
|
|
Independent director |
Hyung Oh Yoo
|
|
Independent director |
Myung Whan Suh was elected as our independent director
and member of the audit committee at our shareholders
meeting in December 2004. Mr. Suh serves as the president
of Korea Venture Forum, a non-profit organization chartered by
the Korea Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, since 2000.
From December 1999 to July 2001, Mr. Suh served as the
president and chief executive officer of GNG Networks Inc., an
Internet infrastructure company. Mr. Suh holds a
bachelors degree in law and a masters degree in
management from Seoul National University, a masters
degree in business administration from University of Chicago,
and a doctors degree in computers and information systems
from University of Rochester. Mr. Suh is a certified public
accountant licensed in the State of Colorado.
Chan Joong Park was elected as our independent director
and member of the audit committee at our shareholders
meeting in March 2005. Mr. Park currently serves as vice
president of corporate strategy at SK Chemicals, where he
has worked since February 2003. From 1997 to January 2003,
Mr. Park worked at McKinsey & Co. as associate
principal. From 1989 to 1995, Mr. Park served as deputy
director of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy.
Mr. Park holds a bachelors degree and a masters
degree in business from Seoul National University and a
masters degree in business administration from University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
So Young Choi was elected as our independent director and
member of the audit committee at our shareholders meeting
in March 2005. Mr. Choi currently serves as president and
chief executive officer at T-Plus Consulting Inc., where he has
worked since March 2003. From October 1994 to March 2003,
Mr. Choi worked at the Boston Consulting Group, where he
was a practice leader of the consumer and retail group, a
regional node of the BCG Asia Pacific consumer and retail group
and the organizational and human resources group. From 1992 to
1994, Mr. Choi worked at Hyundai International Merchant
Bank as business analyst in the securities and international
finance divisions. Mr. Choi holds a bachelors degree
in economics from Seoul National University and a masters
degree in business administration from the International
Institute for Management Development.
Jong Mahn Park was elected as our independent director at
our shareholders meeting in March 2005. Mr. Park is
currently director of customer support and trust and safety at
Internet Auction Co., an eBay affiliate, which he served since
July 2004. From 1999 to June 2004, Mr. Park worked at the
Boston Consulting Group as
64
manager covering the financial services and hi-tech sectors.
From 1996 to 1997, Mr. Park worked as general manager of
product planning at Future Systems, a computer network
technology company in Korea. From 1990 to 1995, Mr. Park
worked as manager of software development at LG Software
Ltd. Mr. Park holds a bachelors degree and a
masters degree in computer engineering from Seoul National
University and a masters degree in business administration
from University of Michigan.
Mu Sik Jung was elected as our independent director at
our shareholders meeting in March 2005. Mr. Jung is
currently the president of the Korea Game Developer Association,
a game industry organization, which he has served since December
1999. Mr. Jung also currently serves as the head of the
planning team of the development department at NCsoft, a Korean
online game company, where he has worked since July 2003. From
1994 to July 2003, Mr. Jung was a director of the
development team at Trigger Soft Corporation, a game development
company, 88% of whose equity interest we currently own.
Mr. Jung is professor of multimedia game design at Seoul
Digital University, where he has taught since August 2002.
Mr. Jung holds a bachelors degree in microbiology
from Han Nam University.
Hyung Oh Yoo was elected as our independent director at
our shareholders meeting in March 2005. Mr. Yoo
served as vice chairman of the Korea Association of Game
Industry, an industry organization, from April 2004 to March
2005. From March 2000 to April 2004, Mr. Yoo served as
chief executive officer and chief consultant for game business
of GameBridge, Inc., a game consulting company. From 1991 to
March 2000, Mr. Yoo worked as a reporter for The Electronic
Times, a daily newspaper for the electronics industry, covering
the game, visual content and home electronic industries.
Mr. Yoo holds a bachelors degree in mass
communication and journalism from Sungkyunkwan University.
Executive Officers
In addition to the executive directors who are also our
executive officers, we currently have the following executive
officers.
|
|
|
Name |
|
Position |
|
|
|
Kyu Hyeong Lee
|
|
Senior Executive Vice President of Human Resources |
Young Soo Lee
|
|
Executive Vice President of Public Relations |
Sang Keun Kim
|
|
Executive Vice President of Game Publishing |
William Woosuk Song
|
|
Executive Vice President of Finance and Accounting |
Kyu Hyeong Lee has served as our senior executive vice
president of human resources since April 2005. Mr. Lee
worked as a human resources consultant for the Interim
Management Service, a management consulting company, from August
2004 to April 2005 and director of human resources at Cisco
Systems Corp./ Korea from June 2002 to August 2004. Mr. Lee
also worked at Tyco International Ltd./ Asia Region from June
1996 to April 2002 and Compaq Computer Corp/ Korea from 1995 to
1998. Mr. Lee graduated from Yonsei University with a
bachelors degree in law and studied human resources
management at City University of New York. He also received a
MBA degree from Helsinki Graduate School of Economics and
Business Administration.
Young Soo Lee has served as our executive vice president
of public relations since August 2004. From May 1997 to
September 2003, Mr. Lee served as the head of the game
production team at Kyoungin Broadcasting (i-TV). Mr. Lee
graduated from Hanyang University with a bachelors degree
in communications.
Sang Keun Kim has served as our executive vice president
of game publishing since April 2005. Mr. Kim is primarily
responsible for planning game strategy and directing the
development of R.O.S.E. Online. Since May 2005, Mr. Kim has
been the chief executive officer of Trigger Soft, the developer
of R.O.S.E. Online whose controlling interest we acquired in
March 2005. Mr. Kim served as the chief executive officer
of E-nori Soft, an online game developer, from March 2003 to May
2004, as chief technology officer of ARAIDC, an online game
developer, from March 2001 to Feb 2002, as professor of digital
media at Kookmin University from 1999 to 2004, and as chief
research at Hyundai Electronics Software R&D Institute from
1994 to 1999. Mr. Kim received a bachelors degree in
electronics from Kookmin University and a Ph.D in electronics
from Korea University.
Mr. William Woosuk Song has served as our executive
vice president of finance and accounting since June 27,
2005. Mr. Song has more than 16 years of experience in
finance and accounting. Mr. Song worked as director of
finance at Volvo Construction Equipment Korea, Ltd. from January
2004 to June 2005. Mr. Song also served as
65
controller of Cisco Systems Korea Ltd. from 2000 to January 2004
and as finance manager at the Asia-Pacific finance division at
Cisco Systems Inc. from 1996 to 1999. Prior to that,
Mr. Song worked at Read-Rite Corporation,
Deloitte & Touche LLP and Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.
as senior financial analyst, senior accountant in the audit
department and financial analyst, respectively. Mr. Song
received his bachelors degree in computer information
system and masters degree in business administration from
San Francisco State University. Mr. Song has been a
certified public accountant in the United States since 1995.
In late June 2005, we hired Mr. Song to serve as our
executive officer whose primary responsibility relates to
financial and accounting reporting. We expect Mr. Song to
be elected as one of our executive directors during an
extraordinary meeting of our shareholders currently contemplated
to be held in the third quarter of 2005. We also expect
Mr. Song to assume the role of our chief financial officer
by succeeding to Mr. Seo, our incumbent chief financial
officer, in the third quarter of 2005. Mr. Seo will remain
as our executive officer and will retain the responsibility of
focusing on enhancing our internal control and enterprise
reporting system to address compliance issues under
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
The registered address of our directors and executive officers
is Shingu Building, 620-2 Shinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu,
Seoul 135-894, Korea.
6.B. Compensation
We have not extended any loans or credit to any of our directors
or executive officers, and we have not provided guarantees for
borrowings by any of these persons. For the year ended
December 31, 2004, the aggregate amount of compensation
paid by us to all directors and executive officers and our
statutory auditor was W322 million, and this amount
excludes W149 million set aside or accrued to provide for
retirement or similar benefits to our executive officers. At our
general meeting of shareholders held on March 26, 2004, our
shareholders approved an aggregate amount of up to
W1.4 billion as compensation for our directors for 2005.
We have also granted an aggregate of 36,000 shares of stock
options to four directors and officers. See Item 6.E.
Share Ownership Stock Option Plan.
Under the Korean Labor Standard Act, we are required to pay a
severance amount to eligible employees, including directors and
officers, who voluntarily or involuntarily terminate their
employment with us, including through retirement. The severance
amount for our officers and directors equals the monthly salary
at the time of his or her departure, multiplied by the number of
continuous years of service, and further multiplied by a
discretionary number set forth in our severance payment
regulation, which depending on the position of the officer or
director ranges from three to five. As of December 31,
2004, we provided W1,182 million (US$1,142 thousand),
being 100% of our severance liability as of such date, of which
W222 million (US$214 thousand) was placed on deposit
at an insurance company. Under Korean law, we are required to
pay that amount to each employee as his or her employment with
us terminates, unless the employee elects to receive payment at
an earlier date.
We maintain a directors and officers liability
insurance policy covering potential liabilities of our directors
and officers. The directors and officers liability insurance
does not cover liabilities arising from lawsuits brought by
overseas investors for alleged violations of the
U.S. federal securities laws or the Nasdaq listing
requirements.
6.C. Board Practices
Board of directors
Our board of directors has the ultimate responsibility for the
administration of our affairs. Our articles of incorporation, as
currently in effect, provide for a board of directors comprised
of not less than three directors and also provide for an audit
committee, a compensation committee and a director nomination
committee. The directors are elected at a shareholders
meeting by a majority vote of the shareholders present or
represented, so long as the quorum is met by a representation of
not less than one third of all issued and outstanding shares
with voting rights.
Each of our directors is elected for a term of three years,
which may be extended until the close of the annual general
meeting of shareholders convened in respect to the last fiscal
year of such directors term. However,
66
directors may serve any number of consecutive terms and may be
removed from office at any time by a special resolution adopted
at a general meeting of shareholders.
The board of directors elects one or more representative
directors from its members. A representative director is
authorized to represent and act on behalf of such company and
has the authority to bind such company. A company may have
(i) one sole representative director, (ii) two or more
co-representative directors or (iii) two or more joint
representative directors. The powers and authorities of a sole
representative director and any co-representative directors are
exactly the same while the only distinction for joint
representative directors is that they must act jointly (i.e.,
all of the joint representative directors must act together in
order to bind the company while co-representative directors may
act independently). Currently our board of directors has elected
David Woong-Jin Yoon as our representative director. Under the
Korean Commercial Code and our articles of incorporation, any
director with special interest in an agenda of a board meeting
may not exercise his voting rights in such board meeting.
Our ADSs are listed on Nasdaq and we are subject to the Nasdaq
listing requirements applicable to non-U.S. companies. Under the
Nasdaq listing requirements, we are required to appoint a
minimum of three independent directors, unless we receive an
exemption from Nasdaq to appoint a lesser number. The
independence standards under the Nasdaq rules exclude, among
others, any person who is a current or former employee of a
company (for the current year or the past three years) or of any
of its affiliates, as well as any immediate family member of an
executive officer of a listed company or of any of its
affiliates. We also intend to comply with the Nasdaq listing
requirements regarding audit committee requirements.
Committees of the board of directors
Under our articles of incorporation, we currently have three
committees that serve under our board of directors:
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the audit committee |
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the director nomination committee; and |
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the compensation committee. |
Under the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Nasdaq listing
requirements, non-U.S. issuers such as ourselves are required to
comply with the Nasdaq audit committee requirements by
July 31, 2005. To comply with the SEC rules and regulations
and the Nasdaq listing requirements regarding the need for, and
composition of, an audit committee, we established an audit
committee at our extraordinary shareholders meeting in December
2004.
The audit committee currently consists of the following
directors: Myung Whan Suh, Chan Joong Park and So Young Choi,
all of whom are independent as set forth in the Nasdaq listing
requirements. All of our independent directors are financially
literate and have accounting or related financial management
expertise. Our board of directors has determined that Myung Whan
Suh is an audit committee financial expert, as such
term is defined by the regulations of the Securities and
Exchange Commission issued pursuant to Section 407 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The audit committee is responsible
for examining internal transactions and potential conflicts of
interest and reviewing accounting and other relevant matters.
Under the Korean Commercial Code, if a company establishes an
audit committee, such company is not permitted to have a
statutory auditor. The audit committee is chaired by Myung Whan
Suh.
|
|
|
Director nomination committee |
The Director nomination committee consists of the following
three directors, Chan Joong Park, Jong Mahn Park and Hyung Oh
Yoo, all of whom are independent as set forth in the Nasdaq
listing requirements. This committee will be responsible for
recommending and nominating candidates for our director
positions and related matters. The committee is currently
chaired by Jong Mahn Park.
67
The Compensation committee consists of following three
directors, Mu Sik Jung, Chan Joong Park and Hyung Oh Yoo, all of
whom are independent as set forth in the Nasdaq listing
requirements. This committee is responsible for reviewing and
approving the managements evaluation and compensation
programs. The committee is currently chaired by Hyung Oh Yoo.
6.D. Employees
As of December 31, 2004, we had 399 full-time
employees, of whom 375 were located in Korea and 24 were
stationed overseas. The following table sets forth the number of
our employees by department as of the dates indicated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, | |
|
|
| |
|
|
2001 | |
|
2002 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Senior management
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
Finance
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
Marketing
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
27 |
|
Game development and support
|
|
|
27 |
|
|
|
167 |
|
|
|
225 |
|
|
|
357 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
36 |
|
|
|
192 |
|
|
|
251 |
|
|
|
399 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We do not have a labor union and none of our employees are
covered by collective bargaining agreements, except for an
agreement with us and our employees, as required under Korean
law, to set up procedures to formally hear complaints from our
employees. We believe that we maintain a good working
relationship with our employees and we have not experienced any
significant labor disputes.
As of December 31, 2004, GRAVITY Interactive LLC employed
22 employees in the United States, and GRAVITY Entertainment
Corporation employed three employees in Japan. None of the
employees of GRAVITY Interactive or GRAVITY Entertainment are
represented by a labor union or covered by a collective
bargaining agreement.
We have entered into a standard annual employment contract with
most of our officers, managers and employees. These contracts
include a covenant that prohibits the officer, manager or
employee from engaging in any activities that compete with our
business during, and for six months after, the period of their
employment with our company.
Under the Korean Labor Standard Act, employees with more than
one year of service with us are entitled to receive a lump sum
payment upon voluntary or involuntary termination of their
employment. The amount of the benefit equals the employees
monthly salary, calculated by averaging the employees
daily salary for the three months prior to the date of the
employees departure, multiplied by the number of
continuous years of employment. In addition, we provide our
registered directors with a lump sum payment upon voluntary or
involuntary termination of their employment in the amount of
three to five times the monthly salary of the departing
registered directors at the time of termination of employment.
Pursuant to the Korean National Pension Law, we are required to
pay 4.5% of each employees annual wages to the National
Pension Corporation. Our employees are also required to pay 4.5%
of their annual wages to the National Pension Corporation. Our
employees are entitled to receive an annuity in the event they
lose, in whole or in part, their wage earning capability. The
total amount of contributions we made to the National Pension
Corporation in 2002, 2003 and 2004, was W142.9 million,
W267.9 million and W536.7 million, respectively.
68
6.E. Share Ownership
Some of our directors and officers own our common shares. See
Item 7.A. Major Shareholders.
Stock option plan
Under our articles of incorporation and the Venture Business
Promotion Act, we may grant options for the purchase of our
shares to certain qualified officers, employees and third
parties. Set forth below are the details of our stock option
plan as currently contained in our articles of incorporation.
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|
|
|
|
Stock options may be granted to our officers and employees who
have contributed or are qualified to contribute to our
establishment, management, overseas business and technical
innovation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no stock options may
be granted to any executive officer or employee who is
(i) our largest shareholder, (ii) a holder of 10% or
more of our shares outstanding, (iii) certain specially
related persons of the person set forth in (i) and
(ii) above, or (iv) a shareholder who would own 10% or
more of our shares upon exercise of options granted under the
stock option plan. |
|
|
|
Stock options may be granted by a special resolution of our
shareholders with the aggregate number of shares issuable not to
exceed 50% of the total number of our then issued and
outstanding common shares. |
|
|
|
Upon exercise of stock options, we will deliver our common
shares or pay in cash the difference between the market price of
our shares and the option exercise price. |
|
|
|
Stock option granted under the stock option plan will have a
minimum exercise price equal to the higher of (i) the
market price of our shares calculated pursuant to the method
under the Inheritance and Gift Tax Law and (ii) the par
value of our shares. |
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|
|
Stock options can vest after two years from the stock option
grant date and can be exercised up to five years from the date
of the grant. The stock option may be cancelled by a resolution
of our board of directors if (i) the officer or employee
who holds the option voluntarily resigns or is discharged from
office prior to the vesting date; (ii) the officer or
employee who holds the option causes material damage to us by
willful misconduct or negligence; (iii) we are unable to
deliver our shares or pay the prescribed amount due to
bankruptcy or dissolution, or (iv) the occurrence of any
cause for cancellation of stock options specified in the stock
option agreement. |
On December 24, 2004, our shareholders approved the
implementation of our employee stock option plan and the
granting of stock options under this plan to our directors,
officers and employees.
Each stock option confers the right on the grantee to purchase
one share of our common stock at the exercise price. The
exercise price for these stock options are, in the case of
directors, officers and three senior employees, W55,431 per
share, representing the price per share of our common shares (or
ADS equivalent) offered to the public in our initial public
offering of February 2005, and in the case of all other eligible
employees, W45,431 per share, representing the price per
share offered to the public less W10,000 per share. A total
of 271,000 shares of stock options were granted,
representing 4.9% of our total number of shares issued as of
December 31, 2004, consisting of 36,000 shares to four
directors and officers named below and 235,000 shares to a
total of 290 eligible employees.
69
The following table sets forth the breakdown of stock options
grants made with respect to our common stock to our directors
and officers, describing the positions held by such directors
and officers, exercise price and the number of options as of
December 31, 2004.
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exercise | |
|
Number of | |
|
|
|
|
Price | |
|
Granted | |
Name and Position |
|
Position |
|
(In Won) | |
|
Options | |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
Richard Hyonkook Kim
|
|
Executive Director and Chief Strategy Officer |
|
|
W55,431 |
|
|
|
12,000 |
|
Kwan Shik Seo
|
|
Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer |
|
|
55,431 |
|
|
|
8,000 |
|
Young Soo Lee
|
|
Director of Public Relations |
|
|
55,431 |
|
|
|
6,000 |
|
Other(1)
|
|
|
|
|
55,431 |
|
|
|
10,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
|
|
36,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note:
|
|
(1) |
Represents options held by Yeon-Ho Moon, a former executive
officer. |
These options are vested in four equal annual installments
starting from the second anniversary of the option grant date.
Once vested, the options must be exercised within one year from
the vesting date and any options not exercised during such time
period are deemed to have terminated. For example,
Mr. Richard Hyonkook Kim, our chief strategy officer, who
received stock options for a total of 12,000 shares of our
common stock, will be able to exercise his options for
(i) 3,000 shares from December 24, 2006 until
December 23, 2007, (ii) 3,000 shares from
December 24, 2007 until December 23, 2008,
(iii) 3,000 shares from December 24, 2008 until
December 23, 2009, and (iv) the entire
3,000 shares from December 24, 2009 until
December 23, 2010.
|
|
ITEM 7. |
MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS |
7.A. Major Shareholders
The following table sets forth information known to us with
respect to the beneficial ownership of our common shares as of
June 29, 2005, by:
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|
|
|
|
each person who is the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our
common shares; |
|
|
|
each of our directors; |
|
|
|
each of our named executive officers; and |
|
|
|
all of our executive officers and directors as a group |
based on 6,948,000 of our common shares outstanding. This table
assumes no exercise of outstanding stock options. None of our
common shares entitles the holder to any preferential voting
rights.
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of Shares | |
|
Percentage | |
|
|
Beneficially Owned(1) | |
|
Beneficially Owned(1) | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
Five percent and shareholders:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jung Ryool Kim(2)(3)(4)(5)
|
|
|
3,396,671 |
|
|
|
48.9 |
% |
Directors and officers:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All executive officers and directors as a group
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes:
|
|
(1) |
Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules
of the Securities Exchange Commission, and includes those
securities for which voting or investment power with respect to
the securities is held. |
|
(2) |
Mr. Jung Ryool Kim is the founder of GRAVITY and has served
as our director since our inception. Mr. Kims address
is Sunkyung Apt. 3-1006, Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul,
Korea. |
70
|
|
(3) |
Includes holdings by immediate family members of Mr. Jung
Ryool Kim, including 248,839 common shares (3.6%) held by Ji
Young Kim (his daughter), 192,849 common shares (2.8%) held by
Young Joon Kim (his son) and 155,526 common shares (2.2%) held
by Ji Yoon Kim (his daughter) as of June 29, 2005. |
|
(4) |
The percentage ownership of common shares beneficially owned by
Mr. Jung Ryool Kim changed in the past three years as
follows: 73.1% as of October 10, 2001, 77.5% as of
January 22, 2002 and 86.2% as of March 14, 2003, in
each case following the issuance of additional common shares by
us, 69.4% as of September 30, 2004 following the sale of
shares to certain institutional and individual investors, and
48.9% as of as of June 29, 2005 following the sale of shares in
connection with our public offering. |
|
(5) |
Pursuant to certain contractual arrangements between
Mr. Jung Ryool Kim and certain of our shareholders, the
number of common shares beneficially owned by Mr. Jung
Ryool Kim may increase by 30,000 or fewer common shares,
depending upon the outcome of litigation with one of our
shareholders requesting the confirmation of his status as our
shareholder. |
7.B. Related Party
Transactions
Relationship with Mr. Jung Ryool Kim
We currently lease our headquarters space from Mr. Jung
Ryool Kim, one of our joint representative directors and our
largest shareholder, at a monthly rent of W33 million and a
monthly management fee of approximately W20 million,
together with a security deposit of W3.8 billion. Under
customary practice in Korea, the security deposit refers to a
lump-sum refundable deposit, which essentially has the economics
of an interest-free loan, that the lessee gives to the lessor at
the beginning of the lease term in exchange for an elimination
or reduction of periodic rental payments. At the end of the
lease term, the security deposit is returned to the lessee.
Normally, the amount of the security deposit is significantly
greater than the monthly rent and therefore is entitled to
protection under Korean law in order for the lessee to secure
refund of the security deposit from the lessor. In order to
secure the return of the security deposit, we have obtained and
registered a security interest in the leased building under
Korean law. This lease was entered into on August 1, 2004
with its initial term expiring on December 31, 2005 and is
renewable for one more year. We believe that the terms of this
lease, including the amount of monthly rent and security
deposit, are in line with market rates.
Relationship with GRAVITY Interactive LLC
In March 2003, we provided a three-year term loan in the amount
of US$210,000 to our wholly-owned subsidiary, GRAVITY
Interactive LLC, at an interest rate of 8% per annum in
order to fund the initial costs of our U.S. subsidiary.
In March 2003, we sold certain servers and related equipment to
GRAVITY Interactive LLC for US$110,293. In May 2003, we leased
to GRAVITY Interactive LLC servers and related equipment for a
monthly fee of US$1,165.66 and subsequently sold them to GRAVITY
Interactive LLC at US$139,879.
In April 2003, we entered into an agreement with GRAVITY
Interactive LLC for the service and distribution of Ragnarok
Online in the United States and Canada pursuant to which GRAVITY
Interactive LLC agreed to remit dividends to us based on a
percentage of earnings.
Relationship with GRAVITY Entertainment Corporation and the
Animation Production Committee
From March to June 2004, we provided a series of loans in the
aggregate amount of ¥35 million, at an annual interest
rate of 9%, to GRAVITY Entertainment Corporation, formerly RO
Production Co., Ltd., our then 50%-owned subsidiary in Japan,
for the production and marketing of Ragnarok the Animation and
working capital purposes. These loans have been fully repaid. In
October 2004, we obtained from GungHo Online Entertainment Inc.,
then the other 50% shareholder of GRAVITY Entertainment, their
ownership interest in GRAVITY Entertainment for a purchase price
of zero, making us the 100% shareholder of GRAVITY
Entertainment. GungHo Online Entertainment Inc. is our overseas
licensee in Japan for the operation of Ragnarok Online.
Under a consortium agreement effective in April 2004 between
GRAVITY Entertainment and other parties to Animation Production
Committee, a Japanese joint venture for the production and
marketing of Ragnarok the Animation, GRAVITY Entertainment was
obligated to contribute ¥117 million plus a 5% tax,
amounting to
71
¥123 million, to the joint venture. As a shareholder
of GRAVITY Entertainment, we fully funded this contribution
amount in the form of additional capital injection.
Pursuant to an arrangement between GRAVITY Entertainment and the
joint venture, GRAVITY Entertainment is required to remit 70% of
the revenues from its animation business to the joint venture.
As of December 31, 2004, the amount due and owing to the
joint venture by GRAVITY Entertainment amounted to
¥30 million. On the other hand, as of the same date,
the amount of GRAVITY Entertainments account receivables
outstanding from the joint venture amounted to
¥10 million.
Pursuant to an export and copyright authorization agreement,
effective in April 2004, between GRAVITY Entertainment and us,
we have the exclusive license to sell Ragnarok the Animation,
produced by the joint venture in which GRAVITY Entertainment
participates, to Southeast Asia, which include Vietnam, Laos,
Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines,
Taiwan, China and Hong Kong.
Relationship with IAMBiz Co., Ltd.
On February 20, 2003, IAMBiz Co., Ltd., which held our
3.51% shareholder as of June 29, 2005, extended a loan in
the amount of W3 billion to us at an annual interest rate
of 18%, which we used to satisfy our short-term liquidity.
IAMBiz was not our shareholder at the time. We repaid this loan
in full in 2003 and no balance is currently outstanding. In
October 2003, we disposed of our sticker photo division,
together with mobile phones and digital and other cameras, to
IAMBiz for proceeds of W510 million. In December 2003, we
also disposed of our license to a horse racing game to IAMBiz
for proceeds of W20 million. IAMBiz changed its name to
Rhoceo Co., Ltd. in November 2004.
Relationship with Trigger Soft
On May 2, 2005, we extended a one-year loan in the amount
of W500 million to Trigger Soft Corporation, the developer
of our R.O.S.E. Online game, at an annual interest rate of 9%
payable monthly in arrears.
Housing loans to employees
As of December 31, 2004, we had outstanding housing loans
to employees amounting to W12 million (US$12 thousand)
at an annual interest rate of 9%.
7.C. Interests of Experts and
Counsel
Not applicable
|
|
ITEM 8. |
FINANCIAL INFORMATION |
8.A. Consolidated Statements and
Other Financial Information
Financial Statements
All relevant financial statements are included in
Item 18. Financial Statements.
Legal Proceedings
In May 2005, a number of putative class action complaints were
filed against us and certain of our directors and executive
officers in the United States District Court for the Southern
District of New York on behalf of all purchasers of our ADSs
traceable to the prospectus and registration statement prepared
and distributed in connection with our initial public offering
and/or purchasers of our ADSs in the open market during the
period from February 7, 2005 to May 12, 2005. Each of
the complaints alleges that certain statements made in the
prospectus and the registration statement and our subsequent
press releases were materially false and misleading in violation
of certain provisions of the federal securities laws in that we
failed to disclose and/or misrepresented: (i) that our core
product, Ragnarok Online, which traditionally has accounted for
approximately 95% of our revenue, was, at the time of the
initial public offering, suffering from declining customer
demand, increased competition and, contrary to the appearance of
the growth presented in the prospectus, in a material state of
72
decline in terms of sales; (ii) that our mobile animation
business was then being negatively impacted by material adverse
trends and had substantially disintegrated; and (iii) that
our royalties and license fees business was then being
negatively impacted by certain material adverse trends in our
operations in China, which was in a state of decline despite the
growth potential of the overall Chinese market for online games
as presented in the prospectus. The plaintiffs seek unspecified
compensatory and recissionary damages, costs and expenses from
the defendants. We believe these suits are without merit, and
intend to defend against them vigorously.
Dividend Policy
Since our inception, we have not declared or paid any dividends
on our common shares. Any decision to pay dividends in the
future will be subject to a number of factors, including cash
requirements for future capital expenditures and investments,
and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant. We
have no intention to pay dividends in the near future.
Consequently, we cannot give any assurance that any dividends
may be declared and paid in the future.
Holders of outstanding common shares on a dividend record date
will be entitled to the full dividend declared without regard to
the date of issuance of the common shares or any subsequent
transfer of the common shares. Payment of annual dividends in
respect of a particular year, if any, will be made in the
following year after approval by our shareholders at the annual
general meeting of shareholders, and payment of interim
dividends, if any, will be made in the same year after approval
by our board of directors, in each case, subject to certain
provisions of our articles of incorporation and the Korean
Commercial Code. See Item 10.B. Articles of
Incorporation Description of Capital
Stock Dividend Rights.
Subject to the terms of the deposit agreement for the ADSs, you
will be entitled to receive dividends on common shares
represented by ADSs to the same extent as the holders of common
shares, less the fees and expenses payable under the deposit
agreement in respect of, and any Korean tax applicable to, such
dividends. See Item 10.E. Taxation Korean
Taxes Taxation of Dividends. The depositary
will generally convert the Korean Won it receives into
U.S. dollars and distribute the U.S. dollar amounts to
you. For a description of the U.S. federal income tax
consequences of dividends paid to our shareholders, see 10.E.
Taxation U.S. Federal Income Tax
Consideration for U.S. Persons Equity
Securities Taxation of Dividends.
8.B. Significant Changes
Initial Public Offering
On February 8, 2005, in an initial public offering we
listed 8,000,000 shares of American depositary shares
(ADSs) on the Nasdaq National Market in the United
States. Of the total shares listed, we sold 5,600,000 ADSs and
certain of our existing shareholders sold 2,400,000 ADSs. Our
net proceeds from this offering were W71,863 million.
Purchase of controlling interest in Trigger Soft
In May 2005, we have entered into agreements to purchase an
aggregate of 88% equity interest in Trigger Soft Corporation,
which develops our R.O.S.E. Online game.
See Item 8.A. Legal Proceedings.
|
|
ITEM 9. |
THE OFFER AND LISTING |
9.A. Offer and Listing
Details
Common Stock
Our common shares are not listed on any stock exchange or
organized trading market, including in Korea. There is no public
market for our common shares, although a small number of our
common shares are traded in off-market transactions involving
private sales primarily in Korea.
73
ADSs
Following our initial public offering on February 8, 2005,
the ADSs have been issued by The Bank of New York as depositary
and are listed on the Nasdaq Stock Markets National Market
under the symbol GRVY. Each ADS represents
one-fourth of one share of our common stock. As of June 29,
2005, 8,000,000 ADSs representing 2,000,000 shares of our
common stock were outstanding.
The table below shows the high and low trading prices on the New
York Stock Exchange for the outstanding ADSs since
January 1, 2005. Each ADS represents one-quarter of one
share of our common stock.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Price | |
|
|
| |
Period |
|
High | |
|
Low | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(in US$) | |
2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First Quarter
|
|
|
13.77 |
|
|
|
8.04 |
|
|
|
January
|
|
|
N/A |
|
|
|
N/A |
|
|
|
February
|
|
|
13.77 |
|
|
|
10.30 |
|
|
|
March
|
|
|
11.90 |
|
|
|
8.04 |
|
|
Second Quarter (through June 23)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
April
|
|
|
9.50 |
|
|
|
8.02 |
|
|
|
May
|
|
|
9.72 |
|
|
|
5.30 |
|
|
|
June (through June 23)
|
|
|
8.45 |
|
|
|
6.30 |
|
9.B. Plan of Distribution
Not applicable.
9.C. Markets
See Item 9.A. Offering and Listing Details.
9.D. Selling Shareholders
Not applicable.
9.E. Dilution
Not applicable.
9.F. Expenses of the Issue
Not applicable.
|
|
ITEM 10. |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION |
10.A. Share Capital
See Item 10.B. Articles of Incorporation.
10.B. Articles of
Incorporation
The section below provides summary information relating to the
material terms of our capital stock and our articles of
incorporation. It also includes a brief summary of certain
provisions of the Korean Commercial Code and related Korean law,
all as currently in effect.
General
Our total authorized share capital is 40,000,000 shares,
which consists of common shares and non-voting preferred shares,
each with a par value of W500 per share. Under our articles
of incorporation, holders of non-voting preferred shares are
entitled to dividends of not less than 1% and up to 15% of the
par value of such
74
shares, the exact rate to be determined by our board of
directors at the time of issuance, provided that the holders of
preferred shares shall be entitled to receive dividends at a
rate not lower than that determined for holders of common
shares. Our articles of incorporation does not authorize us to
issue any class of shares which are redeemable.
Under our articles of incorporation, we are authorized to issue
non-voting preferred shares up to 2,000,000 shares.
As of June 29, 2005, 6,948,900 common shares were issued
and outstanding. We have not issued any equity securities other
than common shares. All of the issued and outstanding shares are
fully paid and non-assessable and are in registered form.
Pursuant to our articles of incorporation, we may issue
additional common shares without further shareholder approval.
The unissued shares remain authorized until an amendment to our
articles of incorporation changes the status of the authorized
shares to unauthorized shares.
Dividends
We may pay dividends to our shareholders in proportion to the
number of shares owned by each shareholder. The common shares
represented by the ADSs have the same dividend rights as our
other common shares.
We may declare dividends at the annual general meeting of
shareholders which is held within three months after the end of
each fiscal year. We pay the annual dividend shortly after the
annual general meeting declaring such dividends. We may
distribute the annual dividend in cash or in shares. However, a
dividend in shares must be distributed at par value, and
dividends in shares may not exceed one-half of the annual
dividends.
Under the Korean Commercial Code, we may pay an annual dividend
only out of the excess of our net assets, on a non-consolidated
basis, over the sum of (i) our stated capital,
(ii) the total amount of our capital surplus reserve and
legal reserve accumulated up to the end of the relevant dividend
period and (iii) the legal reserve to be set aside for the
annual dividend. We may not pay an annual dividend unless we
have set aside as legal reserve an amount equal to at least 10%
of the cash portion of the annual dividend, or unless we have an
accumulated legal reserve of not less than one-half of our
stated capital. We may not use our legal reserves to pay cash
dividends but may transfer amounts from our legal reserves to
capital stock or use our legal reserves to reduce an accumulated
deficit.
In addition to annual dividends, under the Korean Commercial
Code and our articles of incorporation, we may pay interim
dividends once during each fiscal year in case we earn more
retained earning as of the end of the first half of such year
than the retained earning not disposed of at the time of the
general shareholder meeting with respect to the immediately
preceding fiscal year. Unlike annual dividends, the decision to
pay interim dividends can be made by a resolution of the board
of directors and is not subject to shareholder approval. Any
interim dividends must be paid in cash to the shareholders of
record as of June 30 of the relevant fiscal year.
The total amount of interim dividends payable in a fiscal year
shall not be more than the net assets on the balance sheet of
the immediately preceding fiscal year, after deducting
(i) our capital in the immediately preceding fiscal year,
(ii) the aggregate amount of our capital reserves and legal
reserves accumulated up to the immediately preceding fiscal
year, (iii) the amount of earnings for dividend payments
confirmed at the general meeting of shareholders with respect to
the immediately preceding fiscal year, (iv) the amount of
voluntary reserves accumulated up to the immediately preceding
fiscal year for special purposes pursuant to our articles of
incorporation or a resolution by our shareholders and
(v) the amount of legal reserves that should be set aside
for the current fiscal year following the interim dividend
payment. Furthermore, the rate of interim dividends for
non-voting preferred shares must be the same as that for our
common shares.
We have no obligation to pay any dividend unclaimed for five
years from the dividend payment date.
Since our inception, we have not declared or paid any dividends
on our common shares. Any decision to pay dividends in the
future will be subject to a number of factors, including cash
requirements for future capital expenditures and investments,
and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant. We
currently have no intention to pay dividends in the near future.
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Distribution of free shares
In addition to paying dividends in shares out of our retained or
current earnings, we may also distribute to our shareholders an
amount transferred from our capital surplus or legal reserve to
our stated capital in the form of bonus shares issued free of
charge, or free shares. We must distribute such free shares to
all our shareholders in proportion to their existing
shareholdings. Since our inception, we have not distributed any
free shares. We currently have no intention to make such
distribution in the near future.
Preemptive rights and issuance of additional shares
We may issue authorized but unissued shares at the times and,
unless otherwise provided in the Korean Commercial Code, on such
terms as our board of directors may determine. We must offer new
shares on uniform terms to all shareholders who have preemptive
rights and are listed on our shareholders register as of
the relevant record date.
We may issue new shares pursuant to a board resolution to
persons other than existing shareholders, who in these
circumstances will not have preemptive rights if the new shares
are issued:
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through a general public offering pursuant to a resolution of
the board of directors of no more than 50% of the total number
issued and outstanding shares, |
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to the members of the employee stock ownership association, |
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upon exercise of a stock option in accordance with our articles
of incorporation, |
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in the form of depositary receipts of no more than 50% of the
total number issued and outstanding shares, |
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to induce foreign direct investment necessary for business in
accordance with the Foreign Investment Promotion Act of no more
than 50% of the total number issued and outstanding shares, |
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to domestic or overseas financial institutions, corporations or
individuals for the purpose of raising funds on an emergency
basis, |
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as necessary for the inducement of technology, to certain
companies under an alliance arrangement with us, or |
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by a public offering or subscribed for by the underwriters for
the purpose of listing on the Stock Market Division of the Korea
Exchange, or KSE, or registration with the Korea Securities
Dealers Association of no more than 50% of the total number
issued and outstanding shares. |
We must give public notice of preemptive rights regarding new
shares and their transferability at least two weeks before the
relevant record date. We will notify the shareholders who are
entitled to subscribe for newly issued shares of the deadline
for subscription at least two weeks prior to such deadline. If a
shareholder fails to subscribe by the deadline, the
shareholders preemptive rights lapse. Our board of
directors may determine how to distribute fractional shares or
shares for which preemptive rights have not been exercised.
In the case of ADS holders, the depositary will be treated as
the shareholder entitled to preemptive rights.
General meeting of shareholders
We hold the annual general meeting of shareholders within three
months after the end of each fiscal year. Subject to a board
resolution or court approval, we may hold an extraordinary
general meeting of shareholders:
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as necessary, |
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at the request of shareholders holding an aggregate of 3% or
more of our outstanding shares, or |
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at the request of our audit committee. |
We must give shareholders written notice or electronic document
setting out the date, place and agenda of the meeting at least
two weeks prior to the general meeting of shareholders. The
agenda of the general meeting of shareholders is determined at
the meeting of the board of directors. In addition, a
shareholder holding an aggregate of 3% or more of the
outstanding shares may propose an agenda for the general meeting
of shareholders. Such proposal should be made in writing at
least six weeks prior to the meeting. The board of
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directors may decline such proposal if it is in violation of the
relevant law and regulations or our articles of incorporation.
Shareholders not on the shareholders register as of the
record date are not entitled to receive notice of the general
meeting of shareholders or attend or vote at the meeting.
Holders of non-voting preferred shares, unless enfranchised, are
not entitled to receive notice of or vote at general meeting of
shareholders.
Our shareholders meetings are held in Seoul, Korea or
other adjacent areas as deemed necessary.
Voting rights
Holders of our common shares are entitled to one vote for each
common share. However, common shares held by us (i.e., treasury
shares) or by any corporate entity in which we have, directly or
indirectly, greater than a 10% interest, do not have voting
rights. Unless the articles of incorporation explicitly state
otherwise, the Korean Commercial Code permits cumulative voting
pursuant to which each common share entitles the holder thereof
to multiple voting rights equal to the number of directors to be
elected at such time. A holder of common shares may exercise all
voting rights with respect to his or her shares cumulatively to
elect one director. However, our shareholders have decided not
to adopt cumulative voting.
Our shareholders may adopt resolutions at a general meeting by
an affirmative majority vote of the voting shares present or
represented at the meeting, where the affirmative votes also
represent at least one-third of our total voting shares then
issued and outstanding. However, under the Korean Commercial
Code and our articles of incorporation, the following matters
require approval by the holders of at least two-thirds of the
voting shares present or represented at the meeting, where the
affirmative votes also represent at least one-third of our total
voting shares then issued and outstanding:
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amending our articles of incorporation, |
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removing a director, |
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effecting a capital reduction, |
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effecting any dissolution, merger or consolidation with respect
to us, |
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transferring all or any significant part of our business, |
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acquiring all of the business of any other company or a part of
the business of any other company having a material effect on
our business, |
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issuing new shares at a price below the par value, or |
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any other matters for which such resolution is required under
relevant law and regulations. |
In general, holders of non-voting preferred shares (other than
enfranchised non-voting preferred shares) are not entitled to
vote on any resolution or receive notice of any general meeting
of shareholders. However, in the case of amendments to our
articles of incorporation, any merger or consolidation, capital
reductions or in some other cases that affect the rights or
interests of the non-voting preferred shares, approval of the
holders of such class of shares is required. We must obtain the
approval, by a resolution, of holders of at least two-thirds of
the non-voting preferred shares present or represented at a
class meeting of the holders of such class of shares, where the
affirmative votes also represent at least one-third of the total
issued and outstanding shares of such class. In addition, if we
are unable to pay dividends on non-voting preferred shares as
provided in our articles of incorporation, the holders of
non-voting preferred shares will become enfranchised and will be
entitled to exercise voting rights until the dividends are paid.
The holders of enfranchised non-voting preferred shares have the
same rights as holders of voting shares to request, receive
notice of, attend and vote at a general meeting of shareholders.
Shareholders may exercise their voting rights by proxy. Under
our articles of incorporation, the person exercising the proxy
does not have to be a shareholder. A person with a proxy must
present a document evidencing its power of attorney in order to
exercise voting rights.
Holders of ADSs will exercise their voting rights through the
ADS depositary. Subject to the provisions of the deposit
agreement, holders of ADSs will be entitled to instruct the
depositary how to vote the common shares underlying their ADSs.
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Rights of dissenting shareholders
In some limited circumstances, including the transfer of all or
any significant part of our business and our merger or
consolidation with another company, dissenting shareholders have
the right to require us to purchase their shares. To exercise
this right, shareholders must submit to us a written notice of
their intention to dissent before the applicable general meeting
of shareholders. Within 20 days after the relevant
resolution is passed, the dissenting shareholders must request
us in writing to purchase their shares. We are obligated to
purchase the shares of dissenting shareholders within two months
after receiving such request. The purchase price for the shares
is required to be determined through negotiations between the
dissenting shareholders and us. If an agreement is not attained
within 30 days since the receipt of the request, we or the
shareholder requesting the purchase of shares may request the
court to determine the purchase price. Holders of ADSs will not
be able to exercise dissenters rights unless they withdraw
the underlying common shares and become our direct shareholders.
Register of shareholders and record dates
Our transfer agent, Hana Bank, maintains the register of our
shareholders at its office in Seoul, Korea. It registers
transfers of shares on the register of shareholders on
presentation of the share certificates.
The record date for annual dividends is December 31 of each
year. For the purpose of determining shareholders entitled to
annual dividends, the register of shareholders may be closed for
the period from January 1 to January 31 of each year.
Further, for the purpose of determining the shareholders
entitled to some other rights pertaining to the shares, we may,
on at least two weeks public notice, set a record date
and/or close the register of shareholders for not more than
three months. The trading of shares and the delivery of share
certificates may continue while the register of shareholders is
closed.
Annual report
At least one week before the annual general meeting of
shareholders, we must make our annual report and audited
non-consolidated financial statements available for inspection
at our principal office and at all of our branch offices. In
addition, copies of annual reports, the audited financial
statements and any resolutions adopted at the general meeting of
shareholders will be available to our shareholders.
Transfer of shares
Except for the procedural requirements which obligate a
non-citizen or non-residents of Korea to file a report to the
relevant government authority of Korea at the time of
acquisition or transfer of the Companys shares, there is
no restriction on transfer or sale of our shares applicable to
our shareholders or holders of ADSs under our articles of
incorporation and the relevant laws.
Under the Korean Commercial Code, the transfer of shares is
effected by delivery of share certificates. However, to assert
shareholders rights against us, the transferee must have
his name and address registered on our register of shareholders.
For this purpose, a shareholder is required to file his name,
address and seal with our transfer agent. A non-Korean
shareholder may file a specimen signature in place of a seal,
unless he is a citizen of a country with a sealing system
similar to that of Korea. In addition, a non-resident
shareholder must appoint an agent authorized to receive notices
on his or her behalf in Korea and file a mailing address in
Korea. The above requirement does not apply to the holders of
ADSs.
Under current Korean regulations, Korean securities companies
and banks, including licensed branches of non-Korean securities
companies and banks, investment trust companies, futures trading
companies, internationally recognized foreign custodians and the
Korea Securities Depository may act as agents and provide
related services for foreign shareholders. Certain foreign
exchange controls and securities regulations apply to the
transfer of shares by non-residents or non-Koreans. See
Item 10.D. Exchange Controls.
Our transfer agent is Hana Bank, located at 101-1, Euljiro 1-ga,
Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea.
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Acquisition of our shares
We may not acquire our own common shares except in limited
circumstances, such as reduction of capital and acquisition of
our own common shares for the purpose of granting stock options
to our officers and employees. Under the Korean Commercial Code,
except in the case of a capital reduction (in which case we must
retire the common shares immediately), we must resell any common
shares acquired by us to a third party (including to a stock
option holder who exercised his or her stock option) within a
reasonable time. Corporate entities in which we own a 50% or
greater equity interest may not acquire our common shares.
Except for the procedural requirements which obligate a
non-citizen or non-residents of Korea to file a report to the
relevant government authority of Korea at the time of
acquisition or transfer of the Companys shares, there
exists no provision which limits the rights to own our shares or
exercise voting rights on our shares due to their status as a
non-resident or non-Korean under our articles of incorporation
and the applicable Korean laws.
Liquidation rights
In the event of our liquidation, after payment of all debts,
liquidation expenses and taxes, our remaining assets will be
distributed among shareholders in proportion to their
shareholdings.
Other provisions
Under our articles of incorporation, there exists no provision
(i) which may delay or prevent a change in control of us
and that is triggered only in the event of a merger, acquisition
or corporate restructuring, (ii) which requires disclosure
of ownership above a certain threshold or (iii) that
governs the change in capital that is more stringent than
required by the applicable laws in Korea.
10.C. Material Contracts
Agreement, dated June 3, 2003, between Myoung-Jin Lee
and GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On June 3, 2003, we entered into an agreement with
Myoung-Jin Lee, under which Mr. Lee transferred to us the
exclusive right to use and transfer certain trademarks related
to Ragnarok.
Agreement, dated October 7, 2004, between
Myoung-Jin Lee and GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On October 7, 2004, we entered into an agreement with
Myoung-Jin Lee, under which the royalty payment schedule set
forth in the Agreement on Ragnarok Game Services and Related
Matters, dated January 22, 2003, between Mr. Lee and
us, was amended, among others, to reduce the rates of royalty
payable to Mr. Lee as percentages of the revenues we derive
from the sale or licensing of Ragnarok-related products.
Share Purchase Agreement between Moon Kyu Kim and GRAVITY
Co., Ltd.
On May 3, 2005, we entered into an agreement with each of
three shareholders of Trigger Soft Corporation, including
Mr. Moon Kyu Kim, a 45.5% shareholder of Trigger Soft
Corporation, to purchase from such shareholders an aggregate of
75% of the equity interest in Trigger Soft for
W1.36 billion in cash. On May 12, 2005, we entered
into agreements with two other shareholders of Trigger Soft to
acquire an additional 13% equity interest in Trigger Soft for
W254 million.
Amendment to Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement
between GungHo Online Entertainment Inc. and GRAVITY Co.,
Ltd.
On September 23, 2004, we entered into an amendment
agreement with GungHo Online Entertainment Inc., our licensee in
Japan, under which the term of the Ragnarok License and
Distribution Agreement, dated July 24, 2002, between GungHo
Online Entertainment Inc., formerly ONSALE Japan K.K, and us was
extended until August 31, 2006.
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Fourth Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and
Distribution Agreement between Soft-World International
Corporation and GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On October 19, 2004, we entered into an amendment agreement
with Soft-World International Corporation, our licensee in
Taiwan and Hong Kong, under which the term of the Ragnarok
Exclusive License and Distribution Agreement, dated May 20,
2002, between Soft-World International Corporation and us was
extended until October 22, 2006. The amendment agreement
also provided for an extension fee of US$2,300,000 and an
increase in monthly royalty payments from 30% to 33% of the
licensees monthly revenue from the Ragnarok Online
subscription.
Fourth Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok License and
Distribution Agreement among Soft-World International
Corporation, Value Central Corporation and GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On May 18, 2005, we entered into an amendment agreement
with Value Central Corporation, our licensee in China, and
Soft-World International Corporation, the parent of Value
Central, under which the term of the Exclusive Ragnarok License
and Distribution Agreement with Soft-World and Value Central was
extended for three months until August 18, 2005.
Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and
Distribution Agreement between Asiasoft International Co., Ltd.
and GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On October 27, 2004, we entered into an amendment agreement
with Asiasoft International Co., Ltd., our licensee in Thailand,
under which the term of the Ragnarok License and Distribution
Agreement, dated June 13, 2002, between Asiasoft and us was
extended until March 4, 2007. The amendment agreement also
provided for an extension fee of US$1,000,000 and an increase in
monthly royalty payments from 30% to 35% of the licensees
revenue from the Ragnarok Online subscription beginning March
2005.
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement among
Soft-World International Corporation, Value Central Corporation
and GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On May 12, 2003, we entered into an agreement with
Soft-World International Corporation and Value Central
Corporation, our licensee in Malaysia and Singapore and a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Soft-World, under which we granted
Value Central an exclusive right to license from us, and
sublicense to its wholly-owned service company, the distribution
rights for Ragnarok Online in Indonesia for an initial license
fee of US$90,000 payable and a monthly royalty payment, payable
in U.S. dollars, equal to 30% of the licensees
monthly revenue from Ragnarok Online subscription. The term of
the agreement is for two years following the commercialization
of Ragnarok in Singapore or Malaysia, subject to renewal for one
year. The agreement may be terminated in the event of bankruptcy
of or a material breach by either party, including the
licensees failure to pay licensing fee in a timely manner.
Third Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and
Distribution Agreement between Level Up! Inc. and GRAVITY
Co., Ltd.
On February 18, 2005, we entered an amendment agreement
with Level Up! Inc., our licensee in the Philippines, to
extend the term of the Exclusive Ragnarok License and
Distribution Agreement, dated March 25, 2003, between
Level Up! Inc. for one year until August 31, 2006.
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement between
PT. Lyto Datarindo Fortuna and GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On April 2, 2004, we entered into an agreement with PT.
Lyto Datarindo Fortuna, our licensee in Indonesia, under which
we granted PT. Lyto Datarindo Fortuna an exclusive right to
license from us, and sublicense to its wholly-owned service
company, the distribution rights for Ragnarok Online in
Indonesia for an initial license fee of US$50,000 payable and a
monthly royalty payment, payable in U.S. dollars, equal to
30% of the licensees monthly revenue from Ragnarok Online
subscription. The term of the agreement is until
February 25, 2005, subject to renewal for one year. The
agreement may be terminated in the event of bankruptcy of or a
material breach by either party, including the licensees
failure to pay licensing fee in a timely manner.
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Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and
Distribution Agreement between PT. Lyto Datarindo Fortuna
(licensee in Indonesia) and GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On October 29, 2004, we entered into an amendment agreement
with PT. Lyto Datarindo Fortuna, our licensee in Indonesia,
under which the term of the Exclusive Ragnarok License and
Distribution Agreement, dated April 2, 2004, PT. Lyto
Datarindo Fortuna and us was extended until February 26,
2007. The amendment agreement also provided for an extension fee
of US$250,000 and an increase in monthly royalty payments from
30% to 32% of the licensees revenue from the Ragnarok
Online subscription.
Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and Distribution Agreement
between Burda Holding International GmbH and GRAVITY Co.,
Ltd.
On November 26, 2003, we entered into an agreement with
Burda Holding International GmbH, our licensee in Germany,
Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Turkey, under which we granted
Burda Holding an exclusive right to license from us, and
sublicense to third parties approved by us, the distribution
rights for Ragnarok Online in Germany, Austria, Switzerland,
Italy and Turkey for an initial license fee of US$250,000 and a
monthly royalty payment, payable in U.S. dollars, equal to
33% of the licensees monthly revenue from Ragnarok Online
subscription. The agreement also provides that if we granted
Burda Holdings an exclusive distribution right for Ragnarok
Online for the rest of Europe within six months of
commercialization, the initial license fee for such distribution
would be US$250,000. The term of the agreement is for two years
following the commercialization of Ragnarok Online, subject to
renewal on a yearly basis. The agreement may be terminated in
the event of bankruptcy of or a material breach by either party,
including the licensees failure to pay licensing fee in a
timely manner.
Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and
Distribution Agreement between Burda Holding International GmbH
and GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On December 2, 2003, we entered into an amendment agreement
with Burda Holding International GmbH, under which the Exclusive
Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
November 26, 2003, between Burda Holding and us was amended
to fix the initial license fee at US$250,000 if Ragnarok Online
is commercialized in any country in Europe other than Germany,
Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Turkey.
Second Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok License and
Distribution Agreement between Burda Holding International GmbH
(licensee in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Turkey)
and GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On November 18, 2004, we entered into an amendment
agreement with Burda Holding International GmbH, under which the
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
November 26, 2003, between Burda Holding and us was amended
to reduce the initial license fee from US$250,000 to US$150,000
and the monthly royalty payment from 33% to 30% of Burda
Holdings monthly revenue from the Ragnarok Online
subscription.
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement between
Ongamenet PTY Ltd. and GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On July 16, 2004, we entered into an agreement with
Ongamenet PTY Ltd., our licensee in Australia and New Zealand,
under which we granted Ongamenet an exclusive right to license
from us, and sublicense to parties approved by us, the
distribution rights for Ragnarok Online in Australia and New
Zealand for an initial license fee of US$250,000 payable and a
monthly royalty payment, payable in U.S. dollars, equal to
30% of the licensees monthly revenue from Ragnarok Online
subscription. The term of the agreement is for two years from
the date of commercialization of Ragnarok Online, subject to
renewal on a yearly basis. The agreement may be terminated in
the event of bankruptcy of or a material breach by either party,
including the licensees failure to pay licensing fee in a
timely manner.
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Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement between
Level Up! Interactive SA and GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On August 15, 2004, we entered into an agreement with
Level Up! Interactive SA, our licensee in Brazil, under
which we granted Level Up! Interactive SA an exclusive
right to license from us, and sublicense to third parties
approved by us, the distribution rights for Ragnarok Online in
Brazil for an initial license fee of US$240,000 payable and a
monthly royalty payment, payable in U.S. dollars, equal to
25% of the licensees monthly revenue from Ragnarok Online
subscription. The term of the agreement is for two years from
the date of commercialization of Ragnarok Online in Brazil,
subject to renewal on a yearly basis. The agreement may be
terminated in the event of bankruptcy of or a material breach by
either party, including the licensees failure to pay
licensing fee in a timely manner.
Exclusive Ragnarok Software License Agreement Level Up
Network India Pvt. Ltd. and GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On May 24, 2004, we entered into an agreement with
Level Up Network India Pvt. Ltd., our licensee in India,
under which we granted Level Up Network India Pvt. Ltd. an
exclusive right to license from us, and sublicense to third
parties approved by us, the distribution rights for Ragnarok
Online in India for an initial license fee of US$250,000 payable
and a monthly royalty payment, payable in U.S. dollars,
equal to 25% of the licensees monthly revenue from
Ragnarok Online subscription. The term of the agreement is for
two years from the date of commercialization of Ragnarok Online
in India, subject to renewal on a yearly basis. The agreement
may be terminated in the event of bankruptcy of or a material
breach by either party, including the licensees failure to
pay licensing fee in a timely manner.
Lease Agreement, dated August 1, 2004, between Jung
Ryool Kim and GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On August 1, 2004, we entered into a lease agreement with
Jung Ryool Kim, our chairman and largest shareholder, under
which we lease our headquarters space at a monthly rent of
W33 million and a monthly management fee of approximately
W20 million, together with a security deposit of
W3.8 billion. The term of the lease agreement expires on
December 31, 2005, subject to renewal for one more year.
Equipment Sales Agreement between GRAVITY Interactive LLC and
GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
On December 1, 2003, we entered into an equipment sales
agreement with GRAVITY Interactive LLC, our wholly-owned
subsidiary in the United States, under which we sold servers to
GRAVITY Interactive LLC for US$139,879.
10.D. Exchange Controls
General
The Foreign Exchange Transaction Law and the Presidential Decree
and regulations under such Law and Decree, or the Foreign
Exchange Transaction Laws, regulate investment in Korean
securities by non-residents and issuance of securities outside
Korea by Korean companies. Under the Foreign Exchange
Transaction Laws, non-residents may invest in Korean securities
only to the extent specifically allowed by such laws or
otherwise permitted by the Foreign Exchange authorities,
including the Minister of Finance and Economy, or the MOFE. The
Financial Supervisory Commission, or FSC, has also adopted,
pursuant to its authority under the Korean Securities and
Exchange Act, regulations that restrict investment by foreigners
in Korean securities and regulate issuance of securities outside
Korea by Korean companies.
Under the Foreign Exchange Transaction Laws, (i) if the
Korean government deems that it is inevitable due to the
outbreak of natural calamities, wars, conflict of arms or grave
and sudden changes in domestic or foreign economic circumstances
or other situations equivalent thereto, the MOFE may temporarily
suspend payment, receipt or the whole or part of transactions to
which the Foreign Exchange Transaction Laws apply, or impose an
obligation to safe-keep, deposit or sell means of payment in or
to certain Korean governmental agencies or financial
institutions; and (ii) if the Korean government deems that
the international balance of payments and international finance
are confronted or are likely to be confronted with serious
difficulty or the movement of capital between Korea and abroad
brings or is likely to bring on serious obstacles in carrying
out currency
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policies, exchange rate policies and other macroeconomic
policies, the MOFE may take measures to require any person who
intends to perform capital transactions to obtain permission or
to require any person who performs capital transactions to
deposit part of the means of payment acquired in such
transactions in certain Korean governmental agencies or
financial institutions, in each case subject to certain
limitations thereunder.
Filing with the Korean government in connection with the
issuance of ADSs
In order for us to issue common shares represented by ADSs in an
amount exceeding US$30 million, we are required to file a
prior report of the issuance with the MOFE. No further Korean
governmental approval is necessary for the initial offering and
issuance of the ADSs.
Under current Korean law and regulations, the depositary is
required to obtain our prior consent for the number of common
shares to be deposited in any given proposed deposit which
exceeds the difference between (i) the aggregate number of
common shares deposited by us for the issuance of ADSs
(including deposits in connection with the initial and all
subsequent offerings of ADSs and stock dividends or other
distributions related to these ADSs), and (ii) the number
of common shares on deposit with the depositary at the time of
such proposed deposit. We have agreed to consent to any deposit
so long as the deposit would not violate our articles of
incorporation or applicable Korean law and the total number of
our common shares on deposit with the depositary would not
exceed.
Furthermore, prior to making an investment of 10% or more of the
outstanding shares of a Korean company, foreign investors are
generally required under the Foreign Investment Promotion Law to
submit a report to a Korean bank (including a Korean branch of a
foreign bank). Subsequent sales of such shares by foreign
investors will also require a prior report to such Korean bank.
Certificates of the shares must be kept in custody with an
eligible custodian
Under Korean law, certificates evidencing shares of Korean
companies must be kept in custody with an eligible custodian in
Korea, which certificates may in turn be required to be
deposited with the Korea Securities Depository, or KSD, if they
are designated as being eligible for deposit with the KSD. Only
the KSD, foreign exchange banks (including domestic branches of
foreign banks), securities companies (including domestic
branches of foreign securities companies), asset management
companies established under the Indirect Investment Asset
Management Business Act (IIAMBA), futures trading
companies and internationally recognized foreign custodians are
eligible to act as a custodian of shares for a non-resident or
foreign investor. However, a foreign investor may be exempted
from complying with this deposit requirement with the approval
of the Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service in
circumstances where such compliance is made impracticable,
including cases where such compliance would contravene the laws
of the home country of such foreign investor.
A foreign investor may appoint one or more standing proxies from
among the Korea Securities Depository, foreign exchange banks
(including domestic branches of foreign banks), securities
companies (including domestic branches of foreign securities
companies), asset management companies established under
the IIAMBA, futures trading companies and internationally
recognized foreign custodians, which have obtained a license to
act as a standing proxy to exercise shareholders rights or
perform any matters related thereto if the foreign investor does
not perform these activities himself. However, a foreign
investor may be exempted from complying with these standing
proxy rules with the approval of the Governor of the Financial
Supervisory Service in circumstances where such compliance is
made impracticable, including cases where such compliance would
contravene the laws of the home country of such foreign investor.
Restrictions on ADSs and shares
Once the report to the MOFE is filed in connection with the
issuance of ADSs, no Korean governmental approval is necessary
for the sale and purchase of ADSs in the secondary market
outside Korea or for the withdrawal of shares underlying ADSs
and the delivery inside Korea of shares in connection with such
withdrawal. In addition, persons who have acquired shares as a
result of the withdrawal of shares underlying the ADSs may
exercise their preemptive rights for new shares, participate in
free distributions and receive dividends on shares without any
further governmental approval.
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A foreign investor may receive dividends on the shares and remit
the proceeds of the sale of the shares through a foreign
currency account and a Won account exclusively for stock
investments by the foreign investor which are opened at a
foreign exchange bank designated by the foreign investor without
being subject to any procedural restrictions under the Foreign
Exchange Transaction Laws. No approval is required for
remittance into Korea and deposit of foreign currency funds in
the foreign currency account. Foreign currency funds may be
transferred from the foreign currency account at the time
required to place a deposit for, or settle the purchase price
of, a stock purchase transaction to a Won account opened at a
securities company. Funds in the foreign currency account may be
remitted abroad without any governmental approval.
Dividends on shares are paid in Won. No Korean governmental
approval is required for foreign investors to receive dividends
on, or the Won proceeds of the sale of, any such shares to be
paid, received and retained in Korea. Dividends paid on, and the
Won proceeds of the sale of, any such shares held by a
non-resident of Korea must be deposited either in a Won account
with the investors securities company or his Won account.
Funds in the investors Won account may be transferred to
his foreign currency account or withdrawn for local living
expenses up to certain limitations. Funds in the investors
Won account may also be used for future investment in shares or
for payment of the subscription price of new shares obtained
through the exercise of preemptive right. See Item 12.D.
American Depositary Shares Dividends and other
distributions.
Securities companies are allowed to open foreign currency
accounts with foreign exchange banks exclusively for
accommodating foreign investors securities investments in
Korea. Through such accounts, these securities companies may
enter into foreign exchange transactions on a limited basis,
such as conversion of foreign currency funds and Won funds,
either as a counterparty to or on behalf of foreign investors,
without such investors having to open their own Won and foreign
currency accounts with foreign exchange banks.
10.E. Taxation
Korean taxation
The following is a discussion of material Korean tax
consequences to owners of our ADSs and common shares that are
non-resident individuals or non-Korean corporations without a
permanent establishment in Korea to which the relevant income is
attributable. Such non-resident individuals or non-Korean
corporations will be referred to as non-resident holders below.
The statements regarding Korean tax laws set forth below are
based on the laws in force and as interpreted by the Korean
taxation authorities as of the date hereof. This discussion is
not exhaustive of all possible tax considerations which may
apply to a particular investor, and prospective investors are
advised to satisfy themselves as to the overall tax consequences
of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our common
shares, including specifically the tax consequences under Korean
law, the laws of the jurisdiction of which they are resident,
and any tax treaty between Korea and their country of residence,
by consulting their own tax advisors.
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Dividends on the shares or ADSs |
We will deduct Korean withholding tax from dividends paid to you
(whether in cash or in shares) at a rate of 27.5% (including
resident surtax). If you are a resident of a country that has
entered into a tax treaty with Korea, you may qualify for a
reduced rate of Korean withholding tax. If we distribute to you
free distributions of shares representing a capitalization of
certain capital surplus reserves or asset revaluation reserves,
such distribution may be subject to Korean withholding taxes.
In order to obtain a reduced rate of withholding tax pursuant to
an applicable tax treaty, you must submit to us, prior to the
dividend payment date, such evidence of tax residence as the
Korean tax authorities may require in order to establish your
entitlement to the benefits of the applicable tax treaty. See
Item 12.D. American Depositary Shares
Payment of taxes. If you hold ADSs, evidence of tax
residence may be submitted to us through the depositary. Please
see the discussion under Tax treaties
below for discussion on treaty benefits.
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Taxation of capital gains |
In general, capital gains earned by you upon the transfer of our
common shares or ADSs are subject to Korean withholding tax at
the lower of (i) 11% (including resident surtax) of the
gross proceeds realized and (ii) 27.5% (including resident
surtax) of the net realized gains (subject to the production of
satisfactory evidence
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of the acquisition costs and the transaction costs), unless you
are exempt from Korean income taxation under the applicable
Korean tax treaty with your country of tax residence. Please see
Tax treaties below for a discussion on
treaty benefits. Even if you do not qualify for any exemption
under a tax treaty, you will not be subject to the foregoing
withholding tax on capital gains if you qualify for the relevant
Korean domestic tax law exemptions discussed in the following
paragraphs.
With respect to our common shares, you will not be subject to
Korean income taxation on capital gains realized upon the
transfer of such common shares, (i) if our common shares
are listed on either the Market Division of the Korea Exchange
or the KOSDAQ Division of the Korea Exchange, (ii) if you
have no permanent establishment in Korea and (iii) if you
did not own or have not owned (together with any shares owned by
any entity which you have a certain special relationship with
and possibly including the shares represented by the ADSs) 25%
or more of our total issued and outstanding shares at any time
during the calendar year in which the sale occurs and during the
five calendar years prior to the calendar year in which the sale
occurs.
With respect to ADSs, there are uncertainties as to whether they
should be viewed as securities separate from our common shares
underlying such ADSs or as the underlying shares themselves for
capital gains tax purposes, as discussed in more detail in the
following paragraph. However, in either case, you will be
eligible for exemptions for capital gains available under Korean
domestic tax law (in addition to the exemption afforded under
income tax treaties) if certain conditions discussed below are
satisfied. Under a tax ruling issued by the Korean tax authority
in 1995 (the 1995 tax ruling), ADSs are treated as
securities separate from the underlying shares represented by
such ADSs and, based on such ruling (i) capital gains
earned by you from the transfer of ADSs to another non-resident
(other than to such transferees permanent establishment in
Korea) have not been subject to Korean income taxation and
(ii) capital gains earned by you (regardless whether you
have a permanent establishment in Korea) from the transfer of
ADSs outside Korea have been exempt from Korean income taxation
by virtue of the Special Tax Treatment Control Law of Korea, or
the STTCL, provided that the issuance of the ADSs is deemed to
be an overseas issuance under the STTCL.
However, according to a recent tax ruling issued in 2004 by the
Korean tax authorities regarding the securities transaction tax
(the 2004 tax ruling), depositary receipts
constitute share certificates the transfer of which is subject
to the securities transaction tax. Even though the 2004 tax
ruling addresses the securities transaction tax and not the
income tax on capital gains, it gives rise to a question as to
whether depositary shares (such as ADSs) should be viewed as the
underlying shares for capital gains tax purposes. In that case,
exemptions afforded under domestic Korean tax law to capital
gains from transfers of ADSs based on the treatment of ADSs as
securities separate from the underlying shares would no longer
apply (including those referred to in the 1995 tax ruling), but,
instead, exemptions for capital gains from transfers of
underlying shares would apply. Under such an exemption relevant
to this case, capital gains from transfers of ADSs should be
exempt from Korean income tax under the STTCL if (i) the
ADSs are listed on an overseas securities market that is similar
to the Market Division of the Korea Exchange or the KOSDAQ
Division of the Korea Exchange and (ii) the transfer of
ADSs is made through such securities market. We believe that
Nasdaq would satisfy the condition described in (i) above.
If you are subject to tax on capital gains with respect to the
sale of ADSs, or of our common shares which you acquired as a
result of a withdrawal, the purchaser or, in the case of the
sale of common shares on the KSE or through a licensed
securities company in Korea, the licensed securities company, is
required to withhold Korean tax from the sales price in an
amount equal to 11% (including resident surtax) of the gross
realization proceeds and to make payment of these amounts to the
Korean tax authority, unless you establish your entitlement to
an exemption under an applicable tax treaty or domestic tax law
or produce satisfactory evidence of your acquisition cost and
transaction costs for the common shares or the ADSs. To obtain
the benefit of an exemption from tax pursuant to a tax treaty,
you must submit to the purchaser or the securities company, or
through the ADS depositary, as the case may be, prior to or at
the time of payment, such evidence of your tax residence as the
Korean tax authorities may require in support of your claim for
treaty benefits. Please see the discussion under
Tax treaties below for an additional
explanation on claiming treaty benefits.
Korea has entered into a number of income tax treaties with
other countries (including the United States), which would
reduce or exempt Korean withholding tax on dividends on, and
capital gains on transfer of, our
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common shares or ADSs. For example, under the Korea-United
States income tax treaty, reduced rates of Korean withholding
tax of 16.5% or 11.0% (respectively, including resident surtax,
depending on your shareholding ratio) on dividends and an
exemption from Korean withholding tax on capital gains are
available to residents of the United States that are beneficial
owners of the relevant dividend income or capital gains.
However, under Article 17 (Investment or Holding Companies)
of the Korea-United States income tax treaty, such reduced rates
and exemption do not apply if (i) you are a United States
corporation, (ii) by reason of any special measures, the
tax imposed on you by the United States with respect to such
dividends or capital gains is substantially less than the tax
generally imposed by the United States on corporate profits,
and (iii) 25% or more of your capital is held of
record or is otherwise determined, after consultation between
competent authorities of the United States and Korea, to be
owned directly or indirectly by one or more persons who are not
individual residents of the United States. Also, under
Article 16 (Capital Gains) of the Korea-United States
income tax treaty, the exemption on capital gains does not apply
if you are an individual, and (a) you maintain a fixed base
in Korea for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or
more during the taxable year and your ADSs or common shares
giving rise to capital gains are effectively connected with such
fixed base or (b) you are present in Korea for a period or
periods of 183 days or more during the taxable year.
You should inquire for yourself whether you are entitled to the
benefit of an income tax treaty with Korea. It is the
responsibility of the party claiming the benefits of an income
tax treaty in respect of dividend payments or capital gains to
submit to us, the purchaser or the securities company, as
applicable, a certificate as to its tax residence. In the
absence of sufficient proof, we, the purchaser or the securities
company, as applicable, must withhold tax at the normal rates.
Further, effective from July 1, 2002, in order for you to
obtain the benefit of a tax exemption on certain Korean source
income (e.g., dividends and capital gains) under an applicable
tax treaty, Korean tax law requires you (or your agent) to
submit the application for tax exemption along with a
certificate of your tax residency issued by a competent
authority of your country of tax residence. Such application
should be submitted to the relevant district tax office by the
ninth day of the month following the date of the first payment
of such income.
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Inheritance tax and gift tax |
Korean inheritance tax is imposed upon (i) all assets
(wherever located) of the deceased if he or she was domiciled in
Korea at the time of his or her death and (ii) all property
located in Korea which passes on death (irrespective of the
domicile of the deceased). Gift tax is imposed in similar
circumstances to the above (based on the donees place of
domicile in the case of (i) above). The taxes are imposed
if the value of the relevant property is above a limit and vary
from 10% to 50% according to the value of the relevant property
and the identity of the parties involved.
Under the Korean inheritance and gift tax laws, shares issued by
Korean corporations are deemed located in Korea irrespective of
where the share certificates are physically located or by whom
they are owned. If the tax authoritys interpretation of
treating depositary receipts as the underlying share
certificates under the 2004 tax ruling applies in the context of
inheritance and gift taxes as well, you may be treated as the
owner of the common shares underlying the ADSs.
At present, Korea has not entered into any tax treaty relating
to inheritance or gift taxes.
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Securities transaction tax |
If you transfer the common shares and the common shares are
listed on neither the Market Division of the Korea Exchange or
the KOSDAQ Division of the Korea Exchange, you will be subject
to securities transaction tax at the rate of 0.5%.
With respect to transfers of ADSs, depositary receipts (which
the ADSs fall under) constitute share certificates subject to
the securities transaction tax according to the 2004 tax ruling;
provided that, under the Securities Transaction Tax Law, the
transfer of depositary receipts listed on, among others, the New
York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq is exempt from the securities
transaction tax.
According to tax rulings issued by the Korean tax authorities in
2000 and 2002, foreign stockholders are not subject to
securities transaction tax upon the deposit of underlying share
and receipt of depositary securities or upon the surrender of
depositary securities and withdrawal of the originally deposited
underlying share, but there
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remained uncertainties as to whether holders of ADSs other than
initial holders will not be subject to securities transaction
tax when they withdraw common shares upon surrendering the ADSs.
However, the holding of the 2004 tax ruling referred to above
seems to view the ADSs as the underlying shares at least for the
purpose of the securities transaction tax and, though not
specifically stated, could be read to imply that the securities
transaction tax should not apply to deposits of common shares in
exchange of ADSs or withdrawals of common shares upon surrender
of the ADSs regardless of whether the holder is the initial
holder because the transfer of ADSs by the initial holder to a
subsequent holder would have already been subject to securities
transaction tax under such tax ruling.
In principle, the securities transaction tax, if applicable,
must be paid by the transferor of the shares or the rights to
subscribe to such shares. When the transfer is effected through
a securities settlement company, such settlement company is
generally required to withhold and pay the tax to the tax
authorities. When such transfer is made through a securities
company only, such securities company is required to withhold
and pay the tax. Where the transfer is effected by a
non-resident without a permanent establishment in Korea, other
than through a securities settlement company or a securities
company, the transferee is required to withhold the securities
transaction tax.
U.S. federal income and estate tax considerations
The following summary describes certain United States federal
income and estate tax consequences of the ownership of our
shares and ADSs as of the date hereof. The discussion set forth
below is applicable to U.S. Holders (as defined below)
(i) who are residents of the United States for purposes of
the current United States/ Korea Income Tax Treaty,
(ii) whose shares or ADSs are not, for purposes of the
treaty, effectively connected with a permanent establishment in
Korea and (iii) who otherwise qualify for the full benefits
of the treaty. Except where noted, it deals only with shares and
ADSs held as capital assets and does not deal with special
situations, such as those of:
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dealers in securities or currencies; |
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financial institutions; |
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regulated investment companies; |
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real estate investment trusts; |
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tax-exempt entities; |
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insurance companies; |
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traders in securities that elect to use the mark-to-market
method of accounting for their securities; |
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persons holding shares or ADSs as part of a hedging, integrated,
conversion or constructive sale transaction or a straddle; |
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persons owning 10% or more of our voting stock; |
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persons liable for alternative minimum tax; |
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investors in pass-through entities; or |
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persons whose functional currency is not the United
States dollar. |
Furthermore, the discussion below is based upon the provisions
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the
Code), and regulations, rulings and judicial
decisions thereunder as of the date hereof, and such authorities
may be repealed, revoked or modified so as to result in United
States federal income and estate tax consequences different from
those discussed below. In addition, this summary is based, in
part, upon representations made by the depositary to us and
assumes that the deposit agreement, and all other related
agreements, will be performed in accordance with their terms.
Persons considering the purchase, ownership or disposition of
shares or ADSs should consult their own tax advisors concerning
the United States federal income and estate tax consequences in
light of their particular situation as well as any consequences
arising under the laws of any other taxing jurisdiction.
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As used herein, the term U.S. Holder means a
beneficial holder of a share or ADS that is for
U.S. federal income tax purposes:
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an individual citizen or resident of the United States; |
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a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for
United States federal income tax purposes) created or organized
in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or
the District of Columbia; |
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an estate the income of which is subject to United States
federal income taxation regardless of its source; or |
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a trust: |
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that is subject to the primary supervision of a court within the
United States and the control of one or more United States
persons as described in section 7701(a)(30) of the
Code, or |
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that has a valid election in effect under applicable
U.S. Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States
person. |
If a partnership holds shares or ADSs, the tax treatment of a
partner will generally depend upon the status of the partner and
the activities of the partnership. If you are a partner of a
partnership holding our shares or ADSs, you should consult your
tax advisors.
The U.S. Treasury has expressed concerns that parties to
whom ADSs are released may be taking actions that are
inconsistent with the claiming of foreign tax credits for United
States holders of ADSs. Such actions could also be inconsistent
with the claiming of the reduced rate of tax, described below,
applicable to dividends received by certain non-corporate
holders. Accordingly, the analysis of the creditability of
Korean taxes and the availability of the reduced tax rate for
dividends received by certain non-corporate holders, each
described below, could be affected by actions taken by parties
to whom the ADSs are released.
If you hold ADSs, for United States federal income tax purposes,
you generally will be treated as the owner of the underlying
shares that are represented by such ADSs. Accordingly, deposits
or withdrawals of shares for ADSs will not be subject to United
States federal income tax.
Subject to the passive foreign investment company rules
described below, the gross amount of distributions on the ADSs
or shares (including amounts withheld to reflect Korean
withholding taxes) will be taxable as dividends, to the extent
paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as
determined under United States federal income tax principles.
Such income (including withheld taxes) will be includable in
your gross income as ordinary income on the day actually or
constructively received by you, in the case of the shares, or by
the depositary, in the case of ADSs. Such dividends will not be
eligible for the dividends received deduction allowed to
corporations under the Code. With respect to non-corporate
United States Holders, certain dividends received in taxable
years beginning before January 1, 2009 from a qualified
foreign corporation may be subject to reduced rates of taxation.
A qualified foreign corporation includes a foreign corporation
that is eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive income tax
treaty with the United States which the United States Treasury
Department determines to be satisfactory for these purposes and
which includes an exchange of information provision. The United
States Treasury Department has determined that the current
income tax treaty between the United States and Korea meets
these requirements. However, a foreign corporation is also
treated as a qualified foreign corporation with respect to
dividends paid by that corporation on shares (or ADSs backed by
such shares) that are readily tradable on an established
securities market in the United States. Our shares will
generally not be considered readily tradable for these purposes.
United States Treasury Department guidance indicates that our
ADSs, which will be listed on Nasdaq, are readily tradable on an
established securities market in the United States. There can be
no assurance that our ADSs will be considered readily tradable
on an established securities market in later years.
Non-corporate holders that do not meet a minimum holding period
requirement during which they are not protected from the risk of
loss or that elect to treat the dividend income as
investment income pursuant to section 163(d)(4)
of the Code will not be eligible for the reduced rates of
taxation regardless
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of our status as a qualified foreign corporation. In addition,
the rate reduction will not apply to dividends if the recipient
of a dividend is obligated to make related payments with respect
to positions in substantially similar or related property. This
disallowance applies even if the minimum holding period has been
met.
The amount of any dividend paid in Won will equal the United
States dollar value of the Won received calculated by reference
to the exchange rate in effect on the date the dividend is
received by you, in the case of shares, or by the Depositary, in
the case of ADSs, regardless of whether the Won are converted
into United States dollars. If the Won received as a dividend
are not converted into United States dollars on the date of
receipt, you will have a basis in the Won equal to their United
States dollar value on the date of receipt. Any gain or loss
realized on a subsequent conversion or other disposition of the
Won will be treated as U.S. source ordinary income or loss.
Subject to certain conditions and limitations, Korean
withholding taxes on dividends may be treated as foreign taxes
eligible for credit against your United States federal income
tax liability. Instead of claiming a credit, you may, at your
election, deduct such otherwise creditable Korean taxes in
computing your taxable income, subject to generally applicable
limitations under U.S. law. For purposes of calculating the
foreign tax credit, dividends paid on the ADSs or shares will be
treated as income from sources outside the United States and
will generally constitute passive income. Further,
in certain circumstances, if you:
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have held ADSs or shares for less than a specified minimum
period during which you are not protected from risk of
loss, or |
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are obligated to make payments related to the dividends, |
you will not be allowed a foreign tax credit for foreign taxes
imposed on dividends paid on ADSs or shares. The rules governing
the foreign tax credit are complex. You are urged to consult
your tax advisors regarding the availability of the foreign tax
credit under your particular circumstances.
To the extent that the amount of any distribution exceeds our
current and accumulated earnings and profits for a taxable year,
as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles, the
distribution will first be treated as a tax-free return of
capital, causing a reduction in the adjusted basis of the ADSs
or shares (thereby increasing the amount of gain, or decreasing
the amount of loss, to be recognized by you on a subsequent
disposition of the ADSs or shares), and the balance in excess of
adjusted basis will be taxed as capital gain recognized on a
sale or exchange. Consequently, such distributions in excess of
our current and accumulated earnings and profits would generally
not give rise to foreign source income and you would generally
not be able to use the foreign tax credit arising from any
Korean withholding tax imposed on such distribution unless such
credit can be applied (subject to applicable limitations)
against U.S. tax due on other foreign source income in the
appropriate category for foreign tax credit purposes.
Distributions of ADSs, shares or preemptive rights to subscribe
for shares that are received as part of a pro rata distribution
to all of our shareholders generally will not be subject to
U.S. federal income tax. Consequently such distributions
will not give rise to foreign source income, and you will not be
able to use the foreign tax credit arising from any Korean
withholding tax imposed on such shares unless such credit can be
applied (subject to applicable limitations) against
U.S. federal income tax due on other income derived from
foreign sources. The basis of the new ADSs, shares or rights so
received will be determined by allocating the your basis in the
old ADSs or shares between the old ADSs or shares and the new
ADSs, shares or rights received, based on their relative fair
market values on the date of distribution. However, the basis of
the rights will be zero if:
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the fair market of the rights is less than 15 percent of
the fair market value of the old ADSs or shares at the time of
distribution, unless you elect to determine the basis of the old
ADSs or shares and of the rights by allocating between the old
ADSs or shares and the new ADSs or shares the adjusted basis of
the old ADSs or shares, or |
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the rights are not exercised and thus expire. |
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Passive foreign investment companies |
Based on the projected composition of our income and valuation
of our assets, including goodwill, we do not expect to be a
passive foreign investment company, a PFIC, for
2005, and we do not expect to become one in the future, although
there can be no assurance in this regard.
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In general, we will be a PFIC for any taxable year in which:
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at least 75% of our gross income is passive income, or |
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at least 50% of the value (determined on a quarterly basis) of
our assets is attributable to assets that produce or are held
for the production of passive income. |
For this purpose, passive income generally includes dividends,
interest, royalties, rents (other than rents and royalties
derived in the active conduct of a trade or business and not
derived from a related person). If we own at least 25% by value
of the stock of another corporation, we will be treated, for
purposes of the PFIC tests, as owning our proportionate share of
the other corporations assets and receiving our
proportionate share of the other corporations income.
The determination of whether we are a PFIC is made annually.
Accordingly, it is possible that we may become a PFIC in the
current or any future taxable year due to changes in our asset
or income composition. Because we have valued our goodwill based
on the market value of our shares or ADSs, a decrease in the
price of our shares or ADSs may also result in our becoming a
PFIC. If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which you
hold our ADSs or shares, unless you make the mark-to-market
election discussed below, you will be subject to special tax
rules discussed below.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which you hold our
ADSs or shares, you will be subject to special tax rules with
respect to any excess distribution received and any
gain realized from a sale or other disposition, including a
pledge, of ADSs or shares. Distributions received in a taxable
year that are greater than 125% of the average annual
distributions received during the shorter of the three preceding
taxable years or your holding period for the ADSs or shares will
be treated as excess distributions. Under these special tax
rules:
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the excess distribution or gain will be allocated ratably over
your holding period for the ADSs or shares, |
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the amount allocated to the current taxable year, and any
taxable year prior to the first taxable year in which we were a
PFIC, will be treated as ordinary income, and |
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the amount allocated to each other year will be subject to tax
at the highest tax rate in effect for that year and the interest
charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be
imposed on the resulting tax attributable to each such year. |
In addition, non-corporate U.S. Holders will not be
eligible for reduced rates of taxation on any dividends received
from us prior to January 1, 2009, if we are a PFIC in the
taxable year in which such dividends are paid or in the
preceding taxable year. You will be required to file Internal
Revenue Service Form 8621 if you hold our ADSs or shares in
any year in which we are classified as a PFIC.
In certain circumstances, in lieu of being subject to the excess
distribution rules discussed above, you may make an election to
include gain on the stock of a PFIC as ordinary income under a
mark-to-market method provided that such stock is regularly
traded on a qualified exchange. Under current law, the
mark-to-market election may be available for holders of the ADSs
because the ADSs will be listed on Nasdaq which constitutes a
qualified exchange as designated in the Internal Revenue Code,
although there can be no assurance that the ADSs will be
regularly traded for purposes of the mark-to-market
election. The mark-to-market election generally will not be
available for holders of our shares.
If you make an effective mark-to-market election, you will
include in each year as ordinary income the excess of the fair
market value of your PFIC ADSs or shares at the end of the year
over your adjusted tax basis in the ADSs or shares. You will be
entitled to deduct as an ordinary loss each year the excess of
your adjusted tax basis in the ADSs or shares over their fair
market value at the end of the year, but only to the extent of
the net amount previously included in income as a result of the
mark-to-market election.
Your adjusted tax basis in PFIC ADSs or shares will be increased
by the amount of any income inclusion and decreased by the
amount of any deductions under the mark-to-market rules. If you
make a mark-to-market election it will be effective for the
taxable year for which the election is made and all subsequent
taxable years unless the ADSs or shares are no longer regularly
traded on a qualified exchange or the Internal Revenue Service
consents to the revocation of the election. You are urged to
consult your tax advisor about the availability of the
mark-to-market election, and whether making the election would
be advisable in your particular circumstances.
90
Alternatively, you can sometimes avoid the rules described above
by electing to treat us as a qualified electing fund
under section 1295 of the Internal Revenue Code. This
option is not available to you because we do not intend to
comply with the requirements necessary to permit you to make
this election.
You are urged to consult your tax advisors concerning the United
States federal income tax consequences of holding ADSs or shares
if we are considered a PFIC in any taxable year.
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Taxation of capital gains |
Subject to the passive foreign investment company rules
described above, for United States federal income tax purposes,
you will recognize taxable gain or loss on any sale or other
disposition of ADSs or shares in an amount equal to the
difference between the amount realized for the ADSs or shares
and your tax basis in the ADSs or shares. Such gain or loss will
generally be capital gain or loss. Capital gains of individuals
derived with respect to capital assets held for more than one
year are eligible for reduced rates of taxation. The
deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations. Any
gain or loss recognized by you will generally be treated as
United States source gain or loss. Consequently, you may not be
able to use the foreign tax credit arising from any Korean tax
imposed on the disposition of an ADS or share unless such credit
can be applied (subject to applicable limitations) against tax
due on other income treated as derived from foreign sources.
Any Korean securities transaction tax imposed on the sale or
other disposition of shares or ADSs will not be treated as a
creditable foreign tax for United States federal income tax
purposes, although you may be entitled to deduct such taxes,
subject to applicable limitations under the Code.
Korea may impose an inheritance tax on your heir who receives
shares (and possibly ADSs), even if the decedent was not a
citizen or resident of Korea. See Korea
Taxation Inheritance tax and gift tax above.
The amount of any inheritance tax paid to Korea may be eligible
for credit against the amount of United States federal estate
tax imposed on your estate or heirs. You should consult your
personal tax advisors to determine whether and to what extent
such credit may be available. Korea also imposes a gift tax on
the donation of any property located within Korea. The Korean
gift tax generally will not be treated as a creditable foreign
tax for United sates estate tax purposes.
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Information reporting and backup withholding |
In general, information reporting will apply to dividends
(including distributions of interest on shareholders
equity) in respect of our ADSs or shares and the proceeds from
the sale, exchange or redemption of our ADSs or shares that are
paid to you within the United States (and in certain cases,
outside the United States), unless you are an exempt recipient
such as a corporation. A backup withholding tax may apply to
such payments if you fail to provide a taxpayer identification
number or certification of other exempt status or fail to report
in full dividend and interest income.
Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules will be
allowed as a refund or a credit against your United States
federal income tax liability provided the required information
is furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.
10.F. Dividends and Paying
Agents
See Item 8.A. Consolidated Statements and Other
Financial Information Dividend Policy,
Item 10.B. Articles of Incorporation
Description of Capital Stock Dividend rights
and Item 12.D. American Depositary Shares
Dividends and other distributions.
The Bank of New York, as depositary of the ADSs, has agreed to
pay to the holders of ADSs the cash dividends or other
distributions it or the custodian receives on shares or other
deposited securities, after deducting its fees and expenses. See
Item 12.D. American Depositary Shares
Dividends and other distributions.
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10.G. Statement by Experts
Not applicable.
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10.H. |
Documents on Display |
We have filed this annual report on Form 20-F, including
exhibits, with the SEC. As allowed by the SEC, in Item 19
of this annual report, we incorporate by reference certain
information we filed with the SEC. This means that we can
disclose important information to you by referring you to
another document filed separately with the SEC. The information
incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this
annual report. You may inspect and copy this annual report,
including exhibits, and documents that are incorporated by
reference in this annual report at the Public Reference Room
maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E.,
Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at
1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the
Public Reference Room. Any filings we make electronically will
be available to the public over the Internet at the SECs
web site at http://www.sec.gov.
10.I. Subsidiary Information
Not applicable.
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ITEM 11. |
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET
RISK |
11.A. Quantitative Information
about Market Risk
In the normal course of our business, we are subject to market
risk associated with currency movements on non-Won denominated
assets and liabilities and license and royalty revenues and
interest rate movements.
We conduct our business primarily in the Korean Won, which is
also our functional and reporting currency. However, we have
exposure to some foreign currency exchange-rate fluctuations on
cash flows from our overseas licensees. The primary foreign
currencies to which we are exposed are the U.S. dollar, the
Japanese Yen, and the NT dollar. Fluctuations in these exchange
rates may affect our revenues from license fees and royalties
and result in exchange losses and increased costs in Korean Won
terms.
As of December 31, 2004, we had Japanese Yen denominated
accounts receivable of W1,720 million, which represented
23% of our total consolidated accounts receivable balance, and
U.S. dollar denominated accounts receivable of
W3,331 million, which represented 46% of our total
consolidated accounts receivable balance. We also had Japanese
Yen denominated accounts payable, current portion of long-term
debt and related accrued interest of W269 million, which
represented 8% of our total consolidated accounts payable,
current portion of long-term debt and related accrued interest
balance, and U.S. dollar denominated accounts payable,
current portion of long-term debt and related accrued interest
of W1,509 million, which represented 42% of our total
consolidated accounts payable, current portion of long-term debt
and related accrued interest balance, arising from our liability
to Sunny YNK. As these balances all have short maturities,
exposure to foreign currency fluctuations on these balances is
not significant. For example, a hypothetical 10% appreciation of
the Korean Won against the Japanese Yen, the U.S. dollar
and the NT dollar, in the aggregate, would reduce our cash flows
by W327 million.
In 2004, W50,916 million of our revenue was derived from
currencies other than the Korean Won: primarily the Japanese
Yen, W18,182 million; the NT dollar, W15,368 million;
the Thai Baht, W5,503 million; and the U.S. dollar,
W3,528 million. A hypothetical 10% depreciation in the
exchange rates of these foreign currencies against the Korean
Won in 2004 would have reduced our revenue by
W4,258 million.
In 2005, we began entering into derivatives arrangements to
hedge against the risk of foreign currency fluctuation. As of
June 27, 2005, we had foreign currency forward contracts
outstanding in the aggregate notional amount of
US$70 million. We may in the future continue to enter into
hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to
foreign currency exchange risks, but we may not be able to
successfully hedge our exposure at all. In addition, our
currency exchange losses may be magnified by Korean exchange
control regulations that restrict our ability to convert the
Korean Won into U.S. dollars, Japanese Yen or the Euro
under certain emergency circumstances.
Our exposure to risk for changes in interest rates relates
primarily to our investments in short-term financial instruments
and other investments. Investments in both fixed rate and
floating rate interest earning instruments carry some interest
rate risk. The fair value of fixed rate securities may fall due
to a rise in interest rates, while floating rate securities may
produce less income than expected if interest rates fall. As
substantially all of our cash equivalents consist of bank
deposits and short-term money market instruments, we do not
expect any material change with respect to our net income as a
result of a 10% hypothetical interest rate change. We do not
believe that we are subject to any material market risk exposure
on our short-term financial instruments, as they are readily
convertible to cash and have short maturities. In addition, the
repayments paid to Sunny YNK, since the inception of the
agreement, have been allocated to principal and interest using
the interest rate method, which requires certain management to
make estimates over the future payments to Sunny YNK, which are
linked to future revenues of the game. Changes in interest rates
do not effect these payments to Sunny YNK. However, the amount
of the payments to Sunny YNK allocated to principal and interest
would or will be affected by changes in managements
estimate of future revenues and any difference between actual
revenues and such estimates. We do not have any derivative
financial instruments.
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The above discussion and the estimated amounts generated from
the sensitivity analyses referred to above include
forward-looking statements, which assume for
analytical purposes that certain market conditions may occur.
Accordingly, such forward-looking statements should not be
considered projections by us of future events or losses.
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11.B. |
Qualitative Information about Market Risk |
See Item 11.A. Quantitative Information about Market
Risk.
Not applicable.
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ITEM 12. |
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY
SECURITIES |
Not applicable.
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12.B. |
Warrants and Rights |
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
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12.D. |
American Depositary Shares |
The Bank of New York, as depositary, executes and delivers the
American Depositary Receipts, or ADRs. Each ADR is a certificate
evidencing a specific number of American Depositary Shares, also
referred to as ADSs. Each ADS will represent one fourth of one
common share (or a right to receive one fourth of one common
share) deposited with Korea Securities Depository, as custodian
for the depositary in Korea. Each ADS will also represent any
other securities, cash or other property which may be held by
the depositary under the deposit agreement referred to below.
The depositarys office at which the ADRs will be
administered is located at 101 Barclay Street, New York, New
York 10286.
A holder of ADSs may hold ADSs either directly (by having an ADR
registered in its name) or indirectly through its broker or
other financial institution. If a holder of ADSs hold ADSs
directly, it is an ADS holder. This description assumes the
holders of ADSs hold their ADSs directly. If the holders of ADSs
hold the ADSs indirectly, they must rely on the procedures of
their broker or other financial institution to assert the rights
of ADS holders described in this section. The holders of ADSs
should consult with their broker or financial institution to
find out what those procedures are.
We will not treat the holders of ADSs as one of our shareholders
and they will not have shareholder rights. Korean law governs
shareholder rights. The depositary will be the holder of the
shares underlying the ADSs. A holder of ADSs will have ADS
holder rights. A deposit agreement among us, the depositary, ADS
holders and the beneficial owners of ADSs set out ADS holder
rights as well as the rights and obligations of the depositary.
New York law governs the deposit agreement and the ADSs.
The following is a summary of the material provisions of the
deposit agreement. For more complete information, holders of
ADSs should read the entire deposit agreement and the form of
ADR. Directions on how to obtain copies of those documents are
provided elsewhere in this annual report under the caption
Where You Can Find More Information.
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Dividends and other distributions
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How will a holder of ADSs receive dividends and other
distributions on the shares? |
The depositary has agreed to pay to holders of ADSs the cash
dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on
shares or other deposited securities, after deducting its fees
and expenses. Holders of ADSs will receive these distributions
in proportion to the number of shares their ADSs represent.
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Cash. The depositary will convert any cash dividend or
other cash distribution we pay on the shares into
U.S. dollars, if it can do so on a reasonable basis and can
transfer the U.S. dollars to the United States. If that is
not possible or if any government approval is needed and cannot
be obtained, the deposit agreement allows the depositary to
distribute the foreign currency only to those ADS holders to
whom it is possible to do so. It will hold the foreign currency
it cannot convert for the account of the ADS holders who have
not been paid. It will not invest the foreign currency and it
will not be liable for any interest. |
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Before making a distribution, the depositary will deduct any
withholding taxes that must be paid. See Item 10.E.
Taxation Korean taxation. It will
distribute only whole U.S. dollars and cents and will round
fractional cents to the nearest whole cent. If the exchange
rates fluctuate during a time when the depositary cannot convert
the foreign currency, holders of ADSs may lose some or all of
the value of the distribution. |
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Shares. The depositary may distribute additional ADSs
representing any shares we distribute as a dividend or free
distribution. The depositary will only distribute whole ADSs. It
will try to sell shares which would require it to deliver a
fractional ADS and distribute the net proceeds in the same way
as it does with cash. If the depositary does not distribute
additional ADRs, the outstanding ADSs will also represent the
new shares. |
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Rights to purchase additional shares. If we offer holders
of our securities any rights to subscribe for additional shares
or any other rights, the depositary may make these rights
available to holders of ADSs. If the depositary decides it is
not legal and practical to make the rights available but that it
is practical to sell the rights, the depositary may sell the
rights and distribute the proceeds in the same way as it does
with cash. The depositary will allow rights that are not
distributed or sold to lapse. In that case, holders of ADSs will
receive no value for them. |
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If the depositary makes rights available to holders of ADSs, it
will exercise the rights and purchase the shares on their
behalf. The depositary will then deposit the shares and deliver
ADSs to holders of ADSs. It will only exercise rights if holders
of ADSs pay it the exercise price and any other charges the
rights require them to pay. |
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U.S. securities laws may restrict transfers and
cancellation of the ADSs represented by shares purchased upon
exercise of rights. For example, holders of ADSs may not be able
to trade these ADSs freely in the United States. In this case,
the depositary may deliver restricted depositary shares that
have the same terms as the ADRs described in this section except
for changes needed to put the necessary restrictions in place. |
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Other Distributions. The depositary will send to holders
of ADSs anything else we distribute on deposited securities by
any means it thinks is legal, fair and practical. If it cannot
make the distribution in that way, the depositary has a choice.
It may decide to sell what we distributed and distribute the net
proceeds, in the same way as it does with cash. Or, it may
decide to hold what we distributed, in which case ADSs will also
represent the newly distributed property. However, the
depositary is not required to distribute any securities (other
than ADSs) to holders of ADSs unless it receives satisfactory
evidence from us that it is legal to make that distribution. |
The depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is
unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any
ADS holders. We have no obligation to register ADSs, shares,
rights or other securities under the Securities Act. We also
have no obligation to take any other action to permit the
distribution of ADRs, shares, rights or anything else to ADS
holders. This means that holders of ADSs may not receive the
distributions we make on our shares or any value for them if it
is illegal or impractical for us to make them available to
holders of ADSs.
95
Deposit and withdrawal
The depositary will deliver ADSs if holders of ADSs or their
brokers deposit shares or evidence of rights to receive shares
with the custodian. Upon payment of its fees and expenses and of
any taxes or charges, such as stamp taxes or stock transfer
taxes or fees, the depositary will register the appropriate
number of ADSs in the names holders of ADSs request and will
deliver the ADRs at its office to the persons holders of ADSs
request.
Holders of ADSs may deposit common shares with the custodian for
the depositary and obtain ADSs, and may surrender ADSs to the
depositary and receive common shares, subject in each case to
certain conditions. However, under current Korean laws and
regulations, the depositary is required to obtain our prior
consent for a deposit to the extent that, after giving effect to
the deposit, the total number of common shares on deposit would
exceed the maximum amount previously approved by us. As of the
date of this annual report, such maximum amount approved by us
is the total number of common shares representing the ADSs
issued in the initial public offering. After 180 days from
February 7, 2005, we expect to approve an increase in the
maximum amount to 3,552,229 shares (including common shares
sold in the form of ADSs, assuming no exercise of the
underwriters over-allotment option).
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How do ADS holders cancel an ADR and obtain shares? |
Holders of ADSs may surrender their ADRs at the
depositarys office. Upon payment of its fees and expenses
and of any taxes or charges, such as stamp taxes or stock
transfer taxes or fees, the depositary will deliver the shares
and any other deposited securities underlying the ADR to holders
of ADSs or persons holders of ADSs designate at the office of
the custodian. Or, at the request, risk and expense of holders
of ADSs, the depositary will deliver the deposited securities at
its office, if feasible.
Voting rights
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How do holders of ADSs vote? |
Upon receipt of the necessary voting materials, holders of ADSs
may instruct the depositary to vote the number of shares their
ADSs represent. The depositary will notify holders of ADSs of
shareholders meetings and arrange to deliver our voting
materials to holders of ADSs when we deliver them to the
depositary with sufficient time under the terms of the deposit
agreement. Those materials will describe the matters to be voted
on and explain how holders of ADSs may instruct the depositary
how to vote. For instructions to be valid, they much reach the
depositary by a date set by the depositary.
The depositary will try, as far as practical, subject to Korean
law and the provisions of our constitutive documents, to vote
the number of shares or other deposited securities represented
by the ADSs of their holders as they instruct. The depositary
will only vote or attempt to vote as holders of ADSs instruct.
If there is a delay, we cannot ensure that holders of ADSs will
receive voting materials or otherwise learn of an upcoming
shareholders meeting in time to ensure that they can
instruct the depositary to vote their shares. In addition, the
depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to
carry out voting instructions or for the manner of carrying out
voting instructions.
Payment of taxes
The depositary may deduct the amount of any taxes owed from any
payments to holders of ADSs. It may also sell deposited
securities, by public or private sale, to pay any taxes owed.
Holders of ADSs will remain liable if the proceeds of the sale
are not enough to pay the taxes. If the depositary sells
deposited securities, it will, if appropriate, reduce the number
of ADSs to reflect the sale and pay to holders of ADSs any
proceeds, or send to them any property, remaining after it has
paid the taxes.
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Reclassifications, recapitalizations and mergers
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If We: |
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Then: |
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Change the nominal or par value of our
shares
Reclassify, split up or consolidate any of the
deposited securities |
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The cash, shares or other securities received by the depositary
will become deposited securities. Each ADS will automatically
represent its equal share of the new deposited securities. |
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Distribute securities on the shares that are not
distributed to holders of ADSs
Recapitalize, reorganize, merge, liquidate, sell all
or substantially all of our assets, or take any similar action |
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The depositary may distribute some or all of the cash, shares or
other securities it received. It may also deliver new ADRs or
ask holders of ADSs to surrender their outstanding ADRs in
exchange for new ADRs identifying the new deposited securities. |
Fees and expenses
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Persons Depositing Shares or ADR Holders Must Pay: |
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For: |
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$5.00 (or less) per 100 ADSs (or portion of 100 ADSs) |
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Issuance of ADSs, including issuances
resulting from a distribution of shares or rights or other
property |
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Cancellation of ADSs for the purpose of
withdrawal, including if the deposit agreement terminates |
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$.02 (or less) per ADS |
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Any cash distribution to holders of ADSs |
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A fee equivalent to the fee that would be payable if securities
distributed to holders of ADSs had been shares and the shares
had been deposited for issuance of ADSs |
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Distribution of securities distributed to
holders of deposited securities which are distributed by the
depositary to ADR holders |
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$.02 (or less) per ADSs per calendar year (if the depositary has
not collected any cash distribution fee during that year) |
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Depositary services (The depositary may
collect these fees at the sole discretion of the depositary, by
billing the holders of ADSs for such charge or by deducting such
charge from one or more cash dividends or other cash
distributions.) |
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Registration or transfer fees |
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Transfer and registration of shares on our
share register to or from the name of the depositary or its
agent when holders of ADSs deposit or withdraw shares |
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Expenses of the depositary in converting foreign currency to
U.S. dollars |
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Expenses of the depositary |
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Cable, telex and facsimile transmissions (when
expressly provided in the deposit agreement) |
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Taxes and other governmental charges the depositary or the
custodian have to pay on any ADR or share underlying an ADR, for
example, stock transfer taxes, stamp duty or withholding taxes |
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Any charges incurred by the depositary or its agents for
servicing the deposited securities |
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No charges of this type are currently made in
the Korean market (The depositary may collect these fees at the
sole discretion of the depositary, by billing the holders of
ADSs for such charge or by deducting such charge from one or
more cash dividends or other cash distributions.) |
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Amendment and termination
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How may the deposit agreement be amended? |
We may agree with the depositary to amend the deposit agreement
and the ADRs without consent of holders of ADSs for any reason.
If an amendment adds or increases fees or charges, except for
taxes and other governmental charges or expenses of the
depositary for registration fees, facsimile costs, delivery
charges or similar items, or prejudices a substantial right of
ADR holders, it will not become effective for outstanding ADRs
until 30 days after the depositary notifies ADR holders of
the amendment. At the time an amendment becomes effective,
holders of ADSs are considered, by continuing to hold their
ADSs, to agree to the amendment and to be bound by the ADRs and
the deposit agreement as amended.
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How may the deposit agreement be terminated? |
The depositary will terminate the deposit agreement if we ask it
to do so. The depositary may also terminate the deposit
agreement if the depositary has told us that it would like to
resign and we have not appointed a new depositary bank within
60 days. In either case, the depositary must notify holders
of ADSs at least 30 days before termination.
After termination, the depositary and its agents will do the
following under the deposit agreement but nothing else:
(1) advise holders of ADSs that the deposit agreement is
terminated, (2) collect distributions on the deposited
securities, (3) sell rights and other property, and
(4) deliver shares and other deposited securities upon
surrender of ADRs. One year or more after termination, the
depositary may sell any remaining deposited securities by public
or private sale. After that, the depositary will hold the money
it received on the sale, as well as any other cash it is holding
under the deposit agreement for the pro rata benefit of
the ADR holders that have not surrendered their ADRs. It will
not invest the money and has no liability for interest. The
depositarys only obligations will be to account for the
money and other cash. After termination our only obligations
will be to indemnify the depositary and to pay fees and expenses
of the depositary that we agreed to pay.
Limitations on obligations and liability
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Limits on our obligations and the obligations of the
depositary; limits on liability to holders of ADSs |
The deposit agreement expressly limits our obligations and the
obligations of the depositary. It also limits our liability and
the liability of the depositary. We and the depositary:
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are only obligated to take the actions specifically set forth in
the deposit agreement without negligence or bad faith; |
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are not liable if we or the depositary is prevented or delayed
by law or circumstances beyond our or its control from
performing our or its obligations under the deposit agreement; |
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are not liable if we or the depositary exercises discretion
permitted under the deposit agreement; |
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have no obligation to become involved in a lawsuit or other
proceeding related to the ADRs or the deposit agreement on
behalf of holders of ADSs or on behalf of any other person; |
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may rely upon any documents we or the depositary believes in
good faith to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by
the proper party. |
In the deposit agreement, we agree to indemnify the depositary
for acting as depositary, except for losses caused by the
depositarys own negligence or bad faith, and the
depositary agrees to indemnify us for losses resulting from its
negligence or bad faith.
Requirements for depositary actions
Before the depositary will deliver or register a transfer of an
ADR, make a distribution on an ADR, or permit withdrawal of
shares or other property, the depositary may require:
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payment of stock transfer or other taxes or other governmental
charges and transfer or registration fees charged by third
parties for the transfer of any shares or other deposited
securities; |
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satisfactory proof of the identity and genuineness of any
signature or other information it deems necessary; and |
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compliance with regulations it may establish, from time to time,
consistent with the deposit agreement, including presentation of
transfer documents. |
The depositary may refuse to deliver ADRs or register transfers
of ADRs generally when the transfer books of the depositary or
our transfer books are closed or at any time if the depositary
or we think it advisable to do so.
ADS holders right to receive the shares underlying its
ADSs
Holders of ADSs have the right to cancel their ADSs and withdraw
the underlying shares at any time except:
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When temporary delays arise because: (i) the depositary has
closed its transfer books or we have closed our transfer books;
(ii) the transfer of shares is blocked to permit voting at
a shareholders meeting; or (iii) we are paying a
dividend on our shares. |
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When holders of ADSs seeking to withdraw shares owe money to pay
fees, taxes and similar charges. |
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When it is necessary to prohibit withdrawals in order to comply
with any laws or governmental regulations that apply to ADSs or
to the withdrawal of shares or other deposited securities. |
This right of withdrawal may not be limited by any other
provision of the deposit agreement.
Pre-release of ADRs
The deposit agreement permits the depositary to deliver ADRs
before deposit of the underlying shares. This is called a
pre-release of the ADR. The depositary may also deliver shares
upon surrender of pre-released ADRs (even if the ADRs are
surrendered before the pre-release transaction has been closed
out). A pre-release is closed out as soon as the underlying
shares are delivered to the depositary. The depositary may
receive ADRs instead of shares to close out a pre-release. The
depositary may pre-release ADRs only under the following
conditions: (1) before or at the time of the pre-release,
the person to whom the pre-release is being made represents to
the depositary in writing that it or its customer (a) owns
the shares or ADRs to be deposited, (b) assigns all
beneficial right, title and interest in such shares or ADRs to
the depositary for the benefit of the owners and (c) will
not take any action with respect to such shares or ADRs that is
inconsistent with the transfer of beneficial ownership;
(2) the pre-release is fully collateralized with cash or
other collateral that the depositary considers appropriate; and
(3) the depositary must be able to close out the
pre-release on not more than five business days notice. In
addition, the depositary will limit the number of ADSs that may
be outstanding at any time as a result of pre-release, although
the depositary may disregard the limit from time to time, if it
thinks it is appropriate to do so.
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PART II
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ITEM 13. |
DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES |
Not applicable.
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ITEM 14. |
MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS
AND USE OF PROCEEDS |
Not applicable.
|
|
ITEM 15. |
CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES |
A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can
provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the
objectives of the control system are met. As such, disclosure
controls and procedures or systems for internal control over
financial reporting may not prevent all errors and all fraud.
Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact
that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of
controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of
the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation
of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control
issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the company have
been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities
that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that
breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake.
Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual
acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by
management override of the control. The design of any system of
controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about
the likelihood of future events, and any design may not succeed
in achieving its stated goals under all potential future
conditions; over time, control may become inadequate because of
changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with the
policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent
limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements
due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
An evaluation was carried out under the supervision and with the
participation of our management, including our Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of our
disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2004.
Based upon such evaluation, our management has identified
certain material weaknesses in our internal controls and
financial statement reporting procedures, which were similar to
the material weaknesses identified by our auditors in connection
with their audit of our financial statements for the year ended
December 31, 2004, prepared under U.S. GAAP. The material
weakness identified related to our finance teams ability
to support the financial reporting requirements of a U.S. listed
company. Our management and audit committee are currently
executing a range of actions to address these weaknesses in our
internal controls and financial statement reporting procedures,
including efforts to hire personnel with the appropriate level
of U.S. GAAP experience and accounting expertise and to engage
outside resources to upgrade our enterprise reporting system to
support U.S. GAAP reporting. In connection therewith, we
retained the consulting services of KPMG in June 2005 to enhance
our internal control system and to develop an evaluation system
to enable our management to evaluate the effectiveness of our
internal control over financial reporting (as defined under
Rules 13a-15(c) and 15d-15(c) under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934). We expect this evaluation system, which is
expected to be based on a suitable, recognized control framework
(including the COSO framework), to be established in the second
half of 2005. Once completed, we will use this evaluation system
to identify deficiencies and weaknesses, if any, in our internal
control over financial reporting, and, to the extent any
significant deficiencies or material weaknesses are identified,
we plan to take corrective actions, as appropriate, in the
future.
Except for the foregoing, based on the evaluation referred to
above, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
concluded, subject to the limitations noted above, that the
design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures
as of December 31, 2004 were effective to provide
reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed
in the reports we file and submit under the Exchange Act is
recorded, processed, summarized and reported as and when
required.
100
16.A. Audit Committee Financial
Expert
Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Myung Whan
Suh, our outside director and the chairman of our Audit
Committee, is an audit committee financial expert,
as such term is defined by the regulations of the Securities and
Exchange Commission issued pursuant to Section 407 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Mr. Suh is an independent
director as such term is defined under Section 301 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
16.B. Code of Ethics
Pursuant to the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we have
adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to all our employees,
including our chief executive officer, chief financial officer
and all other directors and executive officers, which is
available on www.gravity.co.kr.
16.C. Principal Accountant Fees
and Services
The following table sets forth the aggregate fees billed for
each of the years ended December 31, 2004 for professional
services rendered by our principal accountants Samil
PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Korean member firm of
PricewaterhouseCoopers, depending on the various types of
services and a brief description of the nature of such services.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aggregate Fees Billed | |
|
|
|
|
during the Year | |
|
|
|
|
Ended December 31, | |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Type of Services |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
Nature of Services |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
(In millions of Won) | |
|
|
Audit Fees
|
|
W |
22 |
|
|
W |
853 |
|
|
Audit service for Company and its subsidiaries. |
Audit-Related Fees
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounting advisory service. |
Tax Fees
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
Tax return and consulting advisory service. |
All Other Fees
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All other services which do not meet the three categories above. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
W |
35 |
|
|
W |
859 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
United States law and regulations in effect since May 6,
2003 generally require all engagements of the principal
accountants be pre-approved by an independent audit committee
or, if no such committee exists with respect to an issuer, by
the entire board of directors. Our Board of Directors has
adopted the following policies and procedures for consideration
and approval of requests to engage our principal accountants to
perform audit and non-audit services. Engagement requests of
audit and non-audit services for us and our subsidiaries must in
the first instance be submitted to our Treasury Department
subject to reporting to our Chief Financial Officer. If the
request relates to services that would impair the independence
of our principal accountants, the request must be rejected. If
the engagement request relates to audit and permitted non-audit
services, it must be forwarded to our Board of Directors for
consideration.
Additionally, United States law and regulations in effect since
May 6, 2003 permit the pre-approval requirement to be
waived with respect to engagements for non-audit services
aggregating no more than five percent of the total amount of
revenues we paid to our principal accountants, if such
engagements were not recognized by us at the time of engagement
and were promptly brought to the attention of our Board of
Directors or a designated member thereof and approved prior to
the completion of the audit. In 2004, the percentage of the
total amount of revenue we paid to our principal accountants
represented by non-audit services in each category that were
subject to such a waiver was less than 5%.
16.D. Exemptions from the
Listing Standards for Audit Committee
Not applicable.
16.E. Purchases of Equity
Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
Neither we nor any affiliated purchaser, as defined
in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) of the Exchange Act, purchased any of
our equity securities during the period covered by this annual
report.
101
PART III
|
|
ITEM 17. |
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
We have responded to Item 18 in lieu of responding to this
item.
|
|
ITEM 18. |
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
Reference is made to Item 19 Exhibits for a
list of all financial statements and schedules filed as part of
this annual report.
ITEM 19. EXHIBITS
|
|
(a) |
Financial Statements filed as part of this annual report |
The following financial statements and related schedules,
together with the reports of independent accountants thereon,
are filed as part of this annual report:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Page | |
|
|
| |
Index to Financial Statements
|
|
|
F-1 |
|
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
|
|
F-2 |
|
Consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2003 and 2004
|
|
|
F-3 |
|
Consolidated statements of income for the years ended
December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004
|
|
|
F-4 |
|
Consolidated statements of stockholders equity for the
years ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004
|
|
|
F-5 |
|
Consolidated statements of cash flows for the years ended
December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004
|
|
|
F-7 |
|
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
|
|
|
F-8 |
|
|
|
(b) |
Exhibits filed as part of this annual report |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
.1* |
|
Articles of Incorporation (English translation) |
|
2 |
.1* |
|
Form of Stock Certificate of Registrants common stock, par
value W500 per share |
|
2 |
.1** |
|
Form of Deposit Agreement among Registrant, The Bank of New
York, as depositary, and all holders and beneficial owners of
American depositary shares evidenced by American depositary
receipts, including the form of American depositary receipt ** |
|
4 |
.1* |
|
Agreement on the Development of RAGNAROK Online, dated
June 26, 2000, between Myoung-Jin Lee and Registrant
(translation in English) |
|
4 |
.2* |
|
Agreement on the Exclusive License of Copyright Regarding
Ragnarok Game Services, dated June 26, 2000, between
Myoung-Jin Lee and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.3* |
|
Cooperation Agreement on Ragnarok Game Services, dated
May 31, 2002, between Myoung-Jin Lee and Registrant
(translation in English) |
|
4 |
.4* |
|
Agreement on Factual Matters, dated November 19, 2002,
between Myoung-Jin Lee and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.5* |
|
Agreement on Ragnarok Game Services and Related Matters, dated
January 22, 2003, between Myoung-Jin Lee and Registrant
(translation in English) |
|
4 |
.6* |
|
Agreement, dated June 3, 2003, between Myoung-Jin Lee and
Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.7* |
|
Agreement, dated October 27, 2004, between Myoung-Jin Lee
and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.8* |
|
Investment Agreement, dated February 19, 2002, between
Sunny YNK Inc. and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.9* |
|
Agreement, dated February 21, 2002, between Sunny YNK Inc.
and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.10 |
|
Share Purchase Agreement, dated May 3, 2005, between
Mr. Moon Kyu Kim and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.11* |
|
Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated July 24,
2002, between GungHo Online Entertainment Inc. (formerly ONSALE
Japan K.K.) (licensee in Japan) and Registrant |
102
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
.12* |
|
Amendment to Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
September 23, 2004, between GungHo Online Entertainment
Inc. (licensee in Japan) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.13* |
|
Ragnarok Exclusive License and Distribution Agreement, dated
May 20, 2002, between Soft-World International Corporation
(licensee in Taiwan and Hong Kong) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.14* |
|
Fourth Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and
Distribution Agreement, dated October 19, 2004, between
Soft-World International Corporation (licensee in Taiwan and
Hong Kong) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.15* |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
October 21, 2002, among Soft-World International
Corporation, Value Central Corporation (licensee in China) and
Registrant |
|
4 |
.16 |
|
Fourth Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok License and
Distribution Agreement, dated May 18, 2005, among
Soft-World International Corporation, Value Central Corporation
(licensee in China) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.17* |
|
Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated June 13,
2002, between Asiasoft International Co., Ltd. (licensee in
Thailand) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.18* |
|
Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and
Distribution Agreement, dated October 27, 2004, between
Asiasoft International Co., Ltd. (licensee in Thailand) and
Registrant |
|
4 |
.19* |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
May 12, 2003, among Soft-World International Corporation,
Value Central Corporation (licensee in Malaysia and Singapore)
and Registrant |
|
4 |
.20* |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
March 25, 2003, between Level Up! Inc. (licensee in
the Philippines) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.21 |
|
Third Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok License and
Distribution Agreement, dated February 18, 2005, between
Level Up! Inc. (licensee in the Philippines) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.22* |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
April 2, 2004, between PT. Lyto Datarindo Fortuna (licensee
in Indonesia) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.23* |
|
Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and
Distribution Agreement, dated October 29, 2004, between PT.
Lyto Datarindo Fortuna (licensee in Indonesia) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.24* |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and Distribution Agreement,
dated November 26, 2003, between Burda Holding
International GmbH (licensee in Germany, Austria, Switzerland,
Italy and Turkey) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.25* |
|
Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and
Distribution Agreement, dated December 2, 2003, between
Burda Holding International GmbH (licensee in Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Italy and Turkey) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.26* |
|
Second Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok License and
Distribution Agreement, dated November 18, 2004, between
Burda Holding International GmbH (licensee in Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Italy and Turkey) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.27 |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
July 16, 2004, between Ongamenet PTY Ltd. (licensee in
Australia and New Zealand) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.28 |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
August 15, 2004, between Level Up! Interactive SA
(licensee in Brazil) and GRAVITY Co., Ltd. |
|
4 |
.29* |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok Software License Agreement, dated
May 24, 2004, between Level Up Network India Pvt. Ltd.
(licensee in India) and GRAVITY Co., Ltd. |
|
4 |
.30* |
|
Lease Agreement, dated August 1, 2004, between Jung Ryool
Kim and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.31* |
|
Equipment Sales Agreement, dated December 1, 2003, between
GRAVITY Interactive LLC and Registrant |
|
4 |
.32* |
|
Service and Distribution of Earnings and Profit Agreement, dated
April 1, 2003, between GRAVITY Interactive LLC and
Registrant |
|
4 |
.33* |
|
Loan Agreement, dated January 1, 2004, between GRAVITY
Entertainment Corporation, formerly RO Production Ltd., and
Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.34* |
|
Share (syusshi-mochiban) Assignment Agreement, dated
October 25, 2004, between GungHo Online Entertainment Inc.
and Registrant |
103
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
.35* |
|
Joint Project Agreement for TV Animation Ragnarok,
dated October 1, 2004, among GRAVITY Entertainment
Corporation, formerly RO Production Ltd., GDH Co., Ltd., TV
Tokyo Medianet Co., Ltd., Amuse Soft Entertainment Co., Ltd. and
GNG Entertainment Inc (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.36* |
|
Ragnarok Sales Agency Agreement, dated April 10, 2002,
between Sunny YNK Inc. and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
8 |
.1 |
|
List of Registrants subsidiaries |
|
11 |
.1 |
|
Registrants Code of Business Conduct and Ethics |
|
12 |
.1 |
|
Certifications of our Chief Executive Officer required by
Rule 13a-14(a) of the Exchange Act (Certifications under
Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002), included on
the signature page hereto |
|
12 |
.2 |
|
Certifications of our Chief Executive Officer required by
Rule 13a-14(a) of the Exchange Act (Certifications under
Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002), included on
the signature page hereto |
|
13 |
.1 |
|
Certifications of our Chief Executive Officer required by
Rule 13a-14(b) and Section 1350 of Chapter 63 of
the United States Code (18 U.S.C. 1350) (Certifications
under Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002),
included on the signature page hereto |
|
13 |
.2 |
|
Certifications of our Chief Financial Officer required by
Rule 13a-14(b) and Section 1350 of Chapter 63 of
the United States Code (18 U.S.C. 1350) (Certifications
under Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002),
included on the signature page hereto |
|
|
* |
Incorporated by reference to Registrants Registration
Statement on For F-1 (File No. 333-122159) |
|
** |
Incorporated by reference to Registrants Registration
Statement on Form F-6 (File No. 333-122160) |
104
SIGNATURES
The registrant hereby certifies that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form 20-F and that it has duly
caused and authorized the undersigned to sign this annual report
on its behalf.
|
|
|
|
By: |
/s/ David Woong-Jin Yoon |
|
|
|
|
|
Name: David Woong-Jin Yoon |
|
|
|
|
Title: |
Representative Director and Chief Executive Officer |
Date: June 30, 2005
105
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Page | |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
F-1 |
|
|
|
|
F-2 |
|
|
|
|
F-3 |
|
|
|
|
F-4 |
|
|
|
|
F-5 |
|
|
|
|
F-7 |
|
|
|
|
F-8 |
|
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and the Shareholders of
GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and
the related consolidated statements of operations, of changes in
shareholders equity and of cash flows present fairly, in
all material respects, the financial position of GRAVITY
Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries (the Company) as
of December 31, 2003 and 2004 and the results of their
operations and their cash flows for the years ended
December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004 in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America. These financial statements are the responsibility of
the Companys management. Our responsibility is to express
an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We
conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with the
standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(United States). Those standards require that we plan and
perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether
the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An
audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting
the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements,
assessing the accounting principles used and significant
estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits
provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Samil
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Seoul, Korea
June 29, 2005
F-2
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
December 31, 2003 and 2004
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Korean Won and | |
|
|
in thousands of US dollars, | |
|
|
except per share data) | |
|
|
|
|
(Unaudited) | |
|
|
|
|
(Note 3) | |
ASSETS |
Current assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
|
W 5,405 |
|
|
|
W16,405 |
|
|
$ |
15,849 |
|
|
Short-term financial instruments
|
|
|
1,600 |
|
|
|
8,900 |
|
|
|
8,598 |
|
|
Accounts receivable, net
|
|
|
6,988 |
|
|
|
7,321 |
|
|
|
7,073 |
|
|
Deferred expense
|
|
|
651 |
|
|
|
2,530 |
|
|
|
2,444 |
|
|
Current deferred income tax asset
|
|
|
504 |
|
|
|
2,684 |
|
|
|
2,593 |
|
|
Other current assets
|
|
|
2,156 |
|
|
|
2,258 |
|
|
|
2,181 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total current assets
|
|
|
17,304 |
|
|
|
40,098 |
|
|
|
38,738 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Property and equipment, net
|
|
|
5,694 |
|
|
|
14,951 |
|
|
|
14,444 |
|
Leasehold and other deposits
|
|
|
3,913 |
|
|
|
4,192 |
|
|
|
4,050 |
|
Other non-current assets
|
|
|
1,854 |
|
|
|
2,893 |
|
|
|
2,795 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total assets
|
|
|
W28,765 |
|
|
|
W62,134 |
|
|
$ |
60,027 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS EQUITY |
Current liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts payable
|
|
|
W 2,432 |
|
|
|
W 3,576 |
|
|
$ |
3,455 |
|
|
Deferred income
|
|
|
2,671 |
|
|
|
4,392 |
|
|
|
4,243 |
|
|
Current portion of long-term debt
|
|
|
2,633 |
|
|
|
1,278 |
|
|
|
1,235 |
|
|
Other current liabilities
|
|
|
1,315 |
|
|
|
1,073 |
|
|
|
1,037 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total current liabilities
|
|
|
9,051 |
|
|
|
10,319 |
|
|
|
9,970 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-term deferred income
|
|
|
380 |
|
|
|
1,918 |
|
|
|
1,853 |
|
Long-term debt
|
|
|
1,164 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accrued severance benefits
|
|
|
342 |
|
|
|
960 |
|
|
|
927 |
|
Leasehold deposit received
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,000 |
|
|
|
1,932 |
|
Other non-current liabilities
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total liabilities
|
|
|
10,945 |
|
|
|
15,204 |
|
|
|
14,688 |
|
Commitments and contingencies
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shareholders equity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Preferred shares, W500 par value, 2,000,000 shares
authorized, and no shares issued and outstanding at
December 31, 2003 and 2004, respectively
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Common shares, W500 par value, 38,000,000 shares
authorized, and 5,548,900 shares issued and outstanding as
of December 31, 2003 and 2004, respectively
|
|
|
2,774 |
|
|
|
2,774 |
|
|
|
2,680 |
|
|
Additional paid-in capital
|
|
|
2,132 |
|
|
|
2,180 |
|
|
|
2,106 |
|
|
Retained earnings
|
|
|
12,916 |
|
|
|
42,117 |
|
|
|
40,689 |
|
|
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(141 |
) |
|
|
(136 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total shareholders equity
|
|
|
17,820 |
|
|
|
46,930 |
|
|
|
45,339 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total liabilities and shareholders equity
|
|
|
W28,765 |
|
|
|
W62,134 |
|
|
$ |
60,027 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
F-3
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
For the Years Ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Korean Won and in thousands of US dollars, except | |
|
|
per share data) | |
|
|
|
|
(Unaudited) | |
|
|
|
|
(Note 3) | |
Revenues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Online games-subscription revenue
|
|
W |
7,310 |
|
|
W |
18,560 |
|
|
W |
16,253 |
|
|
$ |
15,702 |
|
|
Online games-royalties and license fees
|
|
|
2,079 |
|
|
|
22,804 |
|
|
|
44,236 |
|
|
|
42,736 |
|
|
Mobile games
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
43 |
|
|
|
480 |
|
|
|
464 |
|
|
Character merchandising, animation and other revenue
|
|
|
427 |
|
|
|
1,024 |
|
|
|
3,471 |
|
|
|
3,353 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total net revenues
|
|
|
9,816 |
|
|
|
42,431 |
|
|
|
64,440 |
|
|
|
62,255 |
|
Cost of revenues
|
|
|
1,735 |
|
|
|
6,866 |
|
|
|
10,309 |
|
|
|
9,959 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross profit
|
|
|
8.081 |
|
|
|
35,565 |
|
|
|
54,131 |
|
|
|
52,296 |
|
Operating expenses
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Selling, general and administrative
|
|
|
4,956 |
|
|
|
11,115 |
|
|
|
13,719 |
|
|
|
13,253 |
|
|
Research and development
|
|
|
815 |
|
|
|
1,597 |
|
|
|
2,030 |
|
|
|
1,962 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating income
|
|
|
2,310 |
|
|
|
22,853 |
|
|
|
38,382 |
|
|
|
37,081 |
|
Other income (expenses)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest income
|
|
|
84 |
|
|
|
94 |
|
|
|
479 |
|
|
|
463 |
|
|
Interest expense
|
|
|
(2,480 |
) |
|
|
(5,947 |
) |
|
|
(4,309 |
) |
|
|
(4,163 |
) |
|
Foreign currency gains
|
|
|
75 |
|
|
|
418 |
|
|
|
336 |
|
|
|
325 |
|
|
Foreign currency losses
|
|
|
(17 |
) |
|
|
(240 |
) |
|
|
(1,052 |
) |
|
|
(1,016 |
) |
|
Others, net
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
26 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income before income tax expenses and minority interest, losses
from equity method investee
|
|
|
(29 |
) |
|
|
17,204 |
|
|
|
33,834 |
|
|
|
32,688 |
|
Income tax expenses
|
|
|
467 |
|
|
|
2,535 |
|
|
|
4,402 |
|
|
|
4,253 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income before minority interest and losses from equity method
investee
|
|
|
(496 |
) |
|
|
14,669 |
|
|
|
29,432 |
|
|
|
28,435 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Minority interest
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(17 |
) |
|
|
(16 |
) |
Equity in loss of related joint venture
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
248 |
|
|
|
240 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net income
|
|
W |
(496 |
) |
|
W |
14,669 |
|
|
W |
29,201 |
|
|
$ |
28,211 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings per share
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic and diluted
|
|
W |
(148 |
) |
|
W |
2,859 |
|
|
W |
5,263 |
|
|
$ |
5.08 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted average number of shares outstanding
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic and diluted
|
|
|
3,355,616 |
|
|
|
5,130,895 |
|
|
|
5,548,900 |
|
|
|
5,548,900 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial
statements
F-4
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS
EQUITY
For the Years Ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Retained | |
|
Accumulated | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Additional | |
|
Earnings | |
|
Other | |
|
|
|
|
Common | |
|
Common | |
|
Paid-In | |
|
(Accumulated | |
|
Comprehensive | |
|
|
|
|
Shares | |
|
Shares | |
|
Capital | |
|
deficit) | |
|
Income (Loss) | |
|
Total | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Korean Won and in thousands of | |
|
|
US dollars, except number of shares) | |
Balance at January 1, 2002
|
|
|
2,800,000 |
|
|
W |
1,400 |
|
|
W |
|
|
|
W |
(1,257 |
) |
|
W |
|
|
|
W |
143 |
|
Issuance of common shares
|
|
|
600,000 |
|
|
|
300 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
300 |
|
Comprehensive income (loss)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unrealized losses on available-for-sale securities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(210 |
) |
|
|
(210 |
) |
|
Net income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(496 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(496 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total comprehensive income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(706 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at December 31, 2002
|
|
|
3,400,000 |
|
|
|
1,700 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1,753 |
) |
|
|
(210 |
) |
|
|
(263 |
) |
Issuance of common shares
|
|
|
2,148,900 |
|
|
|
1,074 |
|
|
|
2,132 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3,206 |
|
Comprehensive income (loss)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unrealized losses on available-for-sale securities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
218 |
|
|
|
218 |
|
|
Cumulative effect of foreign Currency translation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(10 |
) |
|
|
(10 |
) |
|
Net income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14,669 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14,669 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total comprehensive income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14,877 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at December 31, 2003
|
|
|
5,548,900 |
|
|
|
2,774 |
|
|
|
2,132 |
|
|
|
12,916 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
17,820 |
|
Issuance of common shares, net
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amortization of deferred stock compensation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
48 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
48 |
|
Comprehensive income (loss)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(10 |
) |
|
|
(10 |
) |
Cumulative effect of foreign currency translation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(129 |
) |
|
|
(129 |
) |
|
Net income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
29,201 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
29,201 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total comprehensive income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
29,062 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at December 31, 2004
|
|
|
5,548,900 |
|
|
W |
2,774 |
|
|
W |
2,180 |
|
|
W |
42,117 |
|
|
W |
(141 |
) |
|
W |
46,930 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial
statements
F-5
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS
EQUITY
For the Years Ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accumulated | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Additional | |
|
|
|
Other | |
|
|
|
|
Common | |
|
Common | |
|
Paid-In | |
|
Retained | |
|
Comprehensive | |
|
|
|
|
Shares | |
|
Shares | |
|
Capital | |
|
Earnings | |
|
Income (Loss) | |
|
Total | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Balance at December 31, 2003 (Note 3)
(unaudited)
|
|
|
5,548,900 |
|
|
$ |
2,680 |
|
|
$ |
2,060 |
|
|
$ |
12,478 |
|
|
$ |
(2 |
) |
|
$ |
17,216 |
|
Issuance of common shares, net
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amortization of deferred stock compensation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
46 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
46 |
|
Comprehensive income (loss)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
(9 |
) |
Cumulative effect of foreign currency translation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(125 |
) |
|
|
(125 |
) |
|
Net income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
28,211 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
28,211 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total comprehensive income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
28,077 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at December 31, 2004
|
|
|
5,548,900 |
|
|
$ |
2,680 |
|
|
$ |
2,106 |
|
|
$ |
40,689 |
|
|
$ |
(136 |
) |
|
$ |
45,339 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial
statements
F-6
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Unaudited) | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Note 3) | |
|
|
(In millions of Korean Won and in thousands of | |
|
|
US dollars, except per share data) | |
Cash flows from operating activities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net income
|
|
W |
(496 |
) |
|
W |
14,669 |
|
|
W |
29,201 |
|
|
$ |
28,211 |
|
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by
operating activities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Depreciation and amortization
|
|
|
594 |
|
|
|
1,638 |
|
|
|
3,303 |
|
|
|
3,191 |
|
|
Provision for accrued severance benefits
|
|
|
140 |
|
|
|
363 |
|
|
|
913 |
|
|
|
882 |
|
|
Loss from impairment on investment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
777 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equity in loss of related joint venture
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
248 |
|
|
|
240 |
|
|
Deferred income taxes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(994 |
) |
|
|
(2,093 |
) |
|
|
(2,024 |
) |
|
Other
|
|
|
218 |
|
|
|
(54 |
) |
|
|
155 |
|
|
|
152 |
|
Changes in operating assets and liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts receivable
|
|
|
(6,002 |
) |
|
|
(1,228 |
) |
|
|
(449 |
) |
|
|
(434 |
) |
|
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
|
|
|
2,048 |
|
|
|
485 |
|
|
|
1,141 |
|
|
|
1,103 |
|
|
Accrued interest
|
|
|
1,037 |
|
|
|
(358 |
) |
|
|
(442 |
) |
|
|
(427 |
) |
|
Deferred income
|
|
|
(1,159 |
) |
|
|
1,509 |
|
|
|
3,260 |
|
|
|
3,149 |
|
|
Deferred expense
|
|
|
(558 |
) |
|
|
(92 |
) |
|
|
(1,879 |
) |
|
|
(1,816 |
) |
|
Development cost
|
|
|
(427 |
) |
|
|
(44 |
) |
|
|
(412 |
) |
|
|
(398 |
) |
|
Other current liabilities
|
|
|
220 |
|
|
|
303 |
|
|
|
308 |
|
|
|
298 |
|
|
Payment of severance benefits
|
|
|
(15 |
) |
|
|
(114 |
) |
|
|
(144 |
) |
|
|
(140 |
) |
|
Other assets
|
|
|
86 |
|
|
|
(1,143 |
) |
|
|
(476 |
) |
|
|
(459 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net cash provided by operating activities
|
|
|
(4,314 |
) |
|
|
15,717 |
|
|
|
32,634 |
|
|
|
31,528 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash flows from investing activities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increase in short-term financial instruments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(2,200 |
) |
|
|
(7,300 |
) |
|
|
(7,052 |
) |
Decrease (increase) of available-for-sale and other investments,
net
|
|
|
(58 |
) |
|
|
(1,193 |
) |
|
|
151 |
|
|
|
147 |
|
Purchase of equity investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1,243 |
) |
|
|
(1,201 |
) |
Purchase of property and equipment
|
|
|
(2,898 |
) |
|
|
(4,749 |
) |
|
|
(12,324 |
) |
|
|
(11,906 |
) |
Disposal of property and equipment
|
|
|
381 |
|
|
|
510 |
|
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
22 |
|
Payment of leasehold deposits
|
|
|
(945 |
) |
|
|
(3,527 |
) |
|
|
(279 |
) |
|
|
(269 |
) |
Proceeds from leasehold deposits
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
710 |
|
|
|
2,000 |
|
|
|
1,932 |
|
Others, net
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(115 |
) |
|
|
(34 |
) |
|
|
(34 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net cash used in investing activities
|
|
|
(3,520 |
) |
|
|
(10,564 |
) |
|
|
(19,007 |
) |
|
|
(18,361 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash flows from financing activities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Issuance of common stock, net
|
|
|
300 |
|
|
|
3,206 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increase of long-term debt
|
|
|
7,500 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Repayment of capital lease liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(500 |
) |
|
|
(104 |
) |
|
|
(100 |
) |
Proceeds from increase in borrowings
|
|
|
2,200 |
|
|
|
4,015 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Repayment of long-term debt
|
|
|
(673 |
) |
|
|
(3,029 |
) |
|
|
(2,519 |
) |
|
|
(2,434 |
) |
Repayment of borrowings
|
|
|
(2,753 |
) |
|
|
(4,000 |
) |
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net cash used in financing activities
|
|
|
6,574 |
|
|
|
(308 |
) |
|
|
(2,627 |
) |
|
|
(2,538 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
|
|
|
(1,260 |
) |
|
|
4,845 |
|
|
|
11,000 |
|
|
|
10,629 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beginning of year
|
|
|
1,820 |
|
|
|
560 |
|
|
|
5,405 |
|
|
|
5,220 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
End of the year
|
|
W |
560 |
|
|
W |
5,405 |
|
|
W |
16,405 |
|
|
$ |
15,849 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
F-7
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
December 31, 2003 and 2004
|
|
1. |
Description of Business |
GRAVITY Co., Ltd. (GRAVITY or the Company),
incorporated on April 4, 2000, is engaged in developing and
distributing online games and other related businesses
principally in the Republic of Korea and in other countries
within Asia, America and Europe. GRAVITYs principal game
product, RAGNAROK, a multi-player online role
playing game, was commercially launched in August 2002.
GRAVITY founded GRAVITY Interactive, LLC.
(Interactive), a wholly owned U.S.-based subsidiary,
on March 14, 2003. GRAVITY acquired 50% of the voting
shares of RO Production Co., Ltd., a Japanese-based subsidiary
on January 20, 2004. In October 25, 2004, the Company
acquired the remaining 50% of the voting shares of RO Production
Co., Ltd. After the acquisition of the voting shares,
RO Production Co., Ltd., has became a wholly owned
Japanese-based subsidiary and the Company changed its corporate
name to GRAVITY Entertainment Corp. on February 5, 2005.
GRAVITY conducts its business within one industry
segment the business of developing and distributing
online game, software licensing and other related services.
|
|
2. |
Significant Accounting Policies |
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been
prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States of America (US GAAP).
Significant accounting policies followed by the Company in the
preparation of the accompanying consolidated financial
statements are summarized below.
|
|
|
Principles of consolidation |
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the
accounts of GRAVITY and its subsidiaries, GRAVITY Interactive,
LLC. and GRAVITY Entertainment Corp. (the Company).
All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been
eliminated during consolidation.
The Company follows the equity method of accounting for
investment in its joint venture of Animation Production
Committee. The Company records its initial investment at cost
and records its pro rata share of the earnings in or losses in
the results of operations of the venture.
On November 22, 2003, the Companys shareholders
approved a 10-for-1 stock split, which became effective on
December 25, 2003. The accompanying consolidated financial
statements, including all share and per share data, have been
restated as if the stock split had occurred as of the earliest
period presented.
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in
conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates
and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the
accompanying consolidated financial statements and related
disclosures. Although these estimates are based on
managements best knowledge of current events and actions
that the Company may undertake in the future, actual results may
differ from these estimates.
F-8
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
The industry in which the Company operates is subject to a
number of industry-specific risk factors, including, but not
limited to, rapidly changing technologies; significant numbers
of new entrants; dependence on key individuals; competition from
similar products from larger companies; customer preferences;
the need for the continued successful development, marketing,
and selling of its products and services; and the need for
positive cash flows from operations. The Company depends on one
key product and has a limited operating history and as a result,
the Company is subject to risks associated with early stage
companies in new and rapidly evolving markets.
During the years ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004,
the Company generated 99%, 95% and 94% of its revenue from the
Asia region, respectively, therefore, an economic crisis in the
Asia region would have a significant impact on the Company.
During the years ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004,
the Company generated a 73%, 38% and 20%, respectively, of its
total revenue from its relationship with Sunny YNK reported as
online games subscription revenue in Korea. In
addition, during the years ended December 31, 2002, 2003
and 2004, the Company generated a 24%, 43%, and 52%,
respectively, of its total revenue from two of its customers,
the licensees in Japan and Taiwan. The licensee in Japan
generated online games royalties and licensee fees
and character merchandising of 11%, 23% and 28% of the
Companys total revenues, and the licensee in Taiwan
generated online games-royalties and licenses fees 13%, 20% and
24% of the Companys total revenues for the years ended
December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively.
Start-up costs are expensed as incurred.
|
|
|
Online games- subscription revenue |
Prepaid online game subscriptions are deferred and recognized
based upon their actual usage.
|
|
|
Online games-royalties and license fees |
The Company licenses the right to sell and distribute its games
in exchange for an initial prepaid license fee and guaranteed
minimum royalty payments. The prepaid license fee revenues are
deferred and recognized ratably over the license period. The
guaranteed minimum royalty payments, which are currently only
paid in China, are deferred and recognized as the royalties are
earned. In addition, the Company receives a royalty payment
based on a specified percentage of the licensees sales.
These royalties, that exceed the guaranteed minimum royalty, are
recognized on a monthly basis, as the related revenues are
earned by the licensees.
In February and April, 2002, the Company entered into agreements
with Sunny YNK, Inc. (Sunny YNK) pursuant to which
the Company granted it the exclusive right to distribute
RAGNAROK for a contractual period of three years from the date
RAGNAROK was first commercialized. The relationship with Sunny
YNK is such that the Company acts as the primary obligor with
the end-user, and in the majority of situations the end-user is
not aware of the existence of Sunny YNK. The game is marketed
and branded by the Company, and it takes full responsibility for
any customer complaints, questions, support and is responsible
to fix any bugs that are identified. The Company develops
content and maintains legal ownership of the copyrights to the
games. It hosts the delivery of the games on its servers and can
refuse end-users from participating in game play. The Company
has the right to stop providing services to support the game at
any time. In accordance with Emerging Issues Task Force
(EITF) No. 99-19, Reporting Revenue Gross
versus Net, the Company presents the entire revenue derived
from the Sunny YNK license arrangement in its statement of
operations.
F-9
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
|
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents |
Cash equivalents consist of highly liquid investments with an
original maturity date of three months or less.
|
|
|
Short-term financial instruments |
Short-term financial instruments include time deposits, with
maturities greater than three months but less than a year.
|
|
|
Available-for-sale investments |
Available-for-sale securities are carried at fair value, with
the unrealized gains and losses, net of tax, reported as a
separate component of comprehensive income in stockholders
equity.
|
|
|
Allowance for doubtful accounts |
The Company maintains allowances for doubtful accounts
receivable based upon the following information: an aging
analysis of its accounts receivable balances, historical bad
debt rates, repayment patterns and creditworthiness of its
customers, and industry trend analysis.
Subsequent to June 2003, pursuant to agreements with payment
gateway providers, the payment gateway providers are responsible
for remitting to the Company the subscription revenues generated
in Korea after deducting the fixed service fees and charges of
in the range of approximately 9% to 13%, which include fees and
charges owing to telecommunications operators. In return for the
relatively high level of fees and charges, the Company
transferred the risk of loss on delinquencies.
Property and equipment are stated at cost, less accumulated
depreciation. Depreciation for equipment, furniture and
fixtures, vehicles, capital lease assets and purchased software
is computed using the straight-line method over the following
estimated useful lives:
|
|
|
|
|
Building
|
|
|
40 years |
|
Computer and equipment
|
|
|
4 years |
|
Furniture and fixtures
|
|
|
4 years |
|
Software
|
|
|
3 years |
|
Vehicles
|
|
|
4 years |
|
Capital lease assets
|
|
|
4 years |
|
Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line basis
over the estimated useful life of the assets or the lease term,
whichever is shorter.
Significant renewals and additions are capitalized at cost.
Maintenance and repairs are charged to income as incurred.
|
|
|
Accounting for the impairment of long-lived assets |
Long-lived assets and intangible assets that do not have
indefinite lives are reviewed for impairment whenever events or
changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of
the assets may not be recoverable. When the aggregate of future
cash flows (undiscounted and without interest charges) is less
than the carrying value of the asset, an impairment loss is
recognized based on the fair value of the asset.
F-10
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
|
|
|
Capitalized software development costs |
The Company capitalizes certain software development costs
relating to online games that will be distributed through
subscriptions or licenses. The Company accounts for software
development in accordance with Statements of Financial
Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 86,
Accounting for the Costs of Computer Software to be Sold,
Leased, or Otherwise Marketed. Software development costs
incurred prior to the establishment of technological feasibility
are expensed when incurred and are included in research and
development expense. Once a software product has reached
technological feasibility, then all subsequent software
development costs for that product are capitalized until the
product is commercially launched.. Technological feasibility is
evaluated on a product-by-product basis, but typically occurs
when the online game has a proven ability to operate in a
massively multi-player format. Technological feasibility of a
product encompasses both technical design documentation and game
design documentation. For products where proven technology
exists, this may occur early in the development cycle.
After an online game is released, the capitalized product
development costs are amortized over the games estimated
useful life which is deemed to be three years. This expense is
recorded as a component of cost of revenues.
Capitalized software development costs net of accumulated
amortization at December 31, 2003 and 2004 was
W215 million and W468 million, respectively, which is
included in the other non-current assets of the accompanying
balance sheet. Amortization expense for fiscal years ended
December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004 was W59 million,
W152 million and W199 million, respectively.
For products that have been released in prior periods, we
evaluate the future recoverability of capitalized amounts on a
quarterly basis. The primary evaluation criterion is actual game
performance.
The Company evaluates the recoverability of capitalized software
development costs on a product-by-product basis. The
recoverability of capitalized software development costs is
evaluated based on the expected performance of the specific
products for which the costs relate. Criteria used to evaluate
expected product performance include: historical performance of
comparable products using comparable technology; orders for the
product prior to its release; and estimated performance of a
sequel product based on the performance of the product on which
the sequel is based. Capitalized costs for those products that
are cancelled are expensed in the period of cancellation. In
addition, a charge to cost of revenues is recorded when
managements forecast for a particular game indicates that
unamortized capitalized costs exceed the net realizable value of
that asset. Significant management judgments and estimates are
utilized in the assessment of when technological feasibility is
established, as well as in the ongoing assessment of the
recoverability of capitalized costs. In evaluating the
recoverability of capitalized costs, the assessment of expected
product performance utilizes forecasted sales amounts and
estimates of additional development costs to be incurred. If
revised forecasted or actual product sales are less than and/or
revised forecasted or actual costs are greater than the original
forecasted amounts utilized in the initial recoverability
analysis, the actual impairment charge may be larger than
originally estimated in any given period.
|
|
|
Research and development costs |
Research and development costs consist primarily of payroll,
depreciation expense and other overhead expenses which are all
expensed as incurred until technological feasibility is reached.
The Company expenses advertising costs as incurred. Advertising
expense was approximately W1,435 million,
W4,285 million and W4,614 million for the years ended
December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively. Pursuant to
the terms of the agreement with Sunny YNK once the cumulative
royalty payments to Sunny YNK reached W7 billion it is
required to use 15% of future royalty payments, paid by the
Company, to
F-11
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
fund additional marketing of the RAGNAROK game. In April 2003,
cumulative royalty payments to Sunny YNK reached
W7 billion. After January 1, 2004, these marketing
activities were performed by the Company and therefore, Sunny
YNK reimbursed the Company for these costs, which was credited
to advertising expenses within selling, general and
administrative expenses in the accompanying statement of
operations.
|
|
|
Accrued severance benefits |
Employees and directors with one year or more of service are
entitled to receive a lump-sum payment upon termination of their
employment with the Company based on the length of service and
rate of pay at the time of termination. Accrued severance
benefits are estimated assuming all eligible employees were to
terminate their employment at the balance sheet date. The annual
severance benefits expense charged to operations is calculated
based upon the net change in the accrued severance benefits
payable at the balance sheet date.
Accrued severance benefits are funded through a group severance
insurance plan. The amounts funded under this insurance plan are
classified as a deduction to the accrued severance benefits.
Subsequent accruals are to be funded at the discretion of the
Business.
|
|
|
Foreign currency translation |
The Korean parent company and its subsidiary use their local
currencies as their functional currencies. All assets and
liabilities of the foreign subsidiary are translated into the
Korean Won at the exchange rate in effect at the end of the
period, and revenues and expenses are translated at average
exchange rates during the period. The effects of foreign
currency translation adjustments are reflected in the cumulative
translation adjustment account in comprehensive income of
shareholders equity.
|
|
|
Foreign currency transactions |
Net gains and losses resulting from foreign exchanges
transactions are included in foreign currency gains (losses) in
the statement of operations.
The Company accounts for income taxes under the provisions of
SFAS No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes.
Under SFAS No. 109, income taxes are accounted for
under the asset and liability method. Deferred taxes are
determined based upon differences between the financial
reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities at currently
enacted statutory tax rates for the years in which the
differences are expected to reverse.
A valuation allowance is provided on deferred tax assets to the
extent that it is more likely than not that such deferred tax
assets will not be realized. The total income tax provision
includes current tax expenses under applicable tax regulations
and the change in the balance of deferred tax assets and
liabilities.
|
|
|
Fair value of financial instruments |
The Companys carrying amounts of cash, cash equivalents,
short-term financial instruments, accounts receivable, accounts
payable and accrued liabilities approximate fair value because
of the short maturity of these instruments.
|
|
|
Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation |
The Company accounts for stock-based employee compensation
arrangements in accordance with the provisions of
SFAS No. 123, Accounting for Stock Based
Compensation, using the fair value method. Under this
method, compensation cost for stock option grants are measured
at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and
recognized over the service period, which is usually the vesting
period, using the method promulgated
F-12
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
by Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
Interpretations No. 28, Accounting for Stock
Appreciation Rights and Other Variable Stock Option or Award
Plans (FIN 28).
The Companys stock purchase option plan permits the
Company to settle the exercise of its options granted in cash or
in stock. However, all options granted to date are required to
be settled in stock. Options that are granted under the
Companys stock option purchase plan to be settled in cash
will be treated as a cash plan award in accordance with
SFAS No. 123, requiring remeasurement of the cash
liability at each balance sheet date based on the current stock
price.
The Company uses a Black-Scholes model to determine the fair
value of equity-based awards at the date of grant and recognizes
compensation cost as if all awards are expected vest,
recognizing forfeitures as they occur.
Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net income
attributable to common shareholders by the weighted average
number of common shares outstanding for all periods. Diluted
earnings per share is computed by dividing net income
attributable to common shareholders by the weighted average
number of common shares outstanding, increased by common stock
equivalents. Common stock equivalents are calculated using the
treasury stock method and represent incremental shares issuable
upon exercise of the Companys outstanding stock options.
However, potential common shares are not included in the
denominator of the diluted earnings per share calculation when
inclusion of such shares would be anti-dilutive, such as in a
period in which a net loss is recorded.
|
|
|
Recent Accounting Pronouncements |
In December 2004, the FASB issued
SFAS No. 123 (R), Share-Based Payment which
requires that the cost resulting from equity-based compensation
transactions be recognized in the financial statements using a
fair-value-based method. The Statement replaces
SFAS No. 123, supersedes Accounting Principles Board
Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees,
and amends SFAS No. 95, Statement of Cash Flows. The
new statement will be effective for public entities in periods
beginning after June 15, 2005. The fair value method under
SFAS No. 123(R) is the same method used to fair value
options under SFAS No. 123. Which would result in the
same measurement and recognition of stock-based compensation.
Therefore, the impact of adopting SFAS No. 123(R),
will not have any impacts on the results of operations, and only
have certain additional required disclosures.
In December 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 153,
Exchanges of Nonmonetary Assets, an amendment of APB Opinion
No. 29. This Statement amends Opinion 29 to eliminate the
exception for non-monetary exchanges of similar productive
assets and replaces it with a general exception for exchanges of
non-monetary assets that do not have commercial substance. The
Statement is effective for nonmonetary asset exchanges occurring
in fiscal periods beginning after June 15, 2005. The
Company does not expect a significant impact on its results of
operations and disclosures.
In May 2005, the FASB issued SFAS 154, Accounting Changes
and Error Corrections a replacement of APB Opinion No. 20
and FASB Statement No. 3. This Statement replaces APB
Opinion No. 20, Accounting Changes, and FASB Statement
No. 3, Reporting Accounting Changes in Interim Financial
Statements, and changes the requirements for the accounting for
and reporting of a change in accounting principle. This
Statement requires retrospective application to prior
periodss financial statements of changes in accounting
principle, unless it is impracticable to determine either the
period-specific effects or the cumulative effect of the change.
This standard is effective for accounting changes and
corrections of errors made in fiscal years beginning after
December 15, 2005. The Company will have no impacts upon
adoption of this standard as no accounting changes or errors
have occurred in the current period.
F-13
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
|
|
3. |
Convenience Translation into United States Dollar Amounts |
The Company reports its consolidated financial statements in the
Korean Won. The United States dollar
(US dollar) amounts disclosed in the
accompanying financial statements are presented solely for the
convenience of the reader, and have been converted at the rate
of 1,035.1 Korean Won to one US dollar, which is the
noon buying rate of the US Federal Reserve Bank of
New York in effect on December 31, 2004. Such
translations should not be construed as representations that the
Korean Won amounts represent, have been, or could be, converted
into, US dollars at that or any other rate. The
US dollar amounts are unaudited and are not presented in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles either
in Korea or the United States of America.
|
|
4. |
Allowance for Accounts Receivable |
Changes in the allowance for accounts receivable for the years
ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004 are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Korean Won) | |
Balance at beginning of year
|
|
W |
|
|
|
W |
151 |
|
|
W |
242 |
|
Provision for allowances
|
|
|
151 |
|
|
|
91 |
|
|
|
|
|
Write-offs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
242 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at end of year
|
|
W |
151 |
|
|
W |
242 |
|
|
W |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5. |
Investment in equity method investee |
In April 2004, its subsidiary, RO Production Co., Ltd.
Invested JPY 123 million for a 30% interest in
Animation Production Committee, a joint venture. The
investment was accounted for under the equity method of
accounting and it is included in the other noncurrent
assets of the accompanying balance sheets.
|
|
6. |
Property and Equipment, Net |
Property and equipment as of December 31, 2003 and 2004
consist of the following:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of | |
|
|
Korean Won) | |
Land
|
|
W |
|
|
|
W |
5,954 |
|
Building
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,233 |
|
Computer and equipment
|
|
|
3,295 |
|
|
|
5,468 |
|
Furniture and fixtures
|
|
|
557 |
|
|
|
655 |
|
Vehicles
|
|
|
194 |
|
|
|
189 |
|
Capital lease assets
|
|
|
603 |
|
|
|
|
|
Leasehold improvements
|
|
|
975 |
|
|
|
1,043 |
|
Software externally-purchased
|
|
|
2,026 |
|
|
|
4,340 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7,650 |
|
|
|
19,882 |
|
Less: accumulated depreciation
|
|
|
1,956 |
|
|
|
4,931 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W |
5,694 |
|
|
W |
14,951 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
F-14
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
Depreciation expenses for the years ended December 31,
2002, 2003 and 2004, were W535 million, W1,480 million
and W3,096 million, respectively, which includes
depreciation expense of capital lease assets of
W134 million and W30 million for the years ended
December 31, 2003 and 2004, respectively.
As of December 31, 2004, the Companys land and
buildings were pledged as collateral for leasehold deposits
which amounted to W2,600 million.
|
|
7. |
Accrued Severance Benefits |
Changes in accrued severance benefits for the years ended
December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004 are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Korean Won) | |
Balance at beginning of year
|
|
W |
39 |
|
|
W |
164 |
|
|
W |
413 |
|
Provisions for severance benefits
|
|
|
140 |
|
|
|
363 |
|
|
|
913 |
|
Severance payments
|
|
|
(15 |
) |
|
|
(114 |
) |
|
|
(144 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
164 |
|
|
|
413 |
|
|
|
1,182 |
|
Less: amounts placed on deposit at insurance company
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(71 |
) |
|
|
(222 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at end of year
|
|
W |
164 |
|
|
W |
342 |
|
|
W |
960 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Company expects to pay the following future benefits to its
employees upon their normal retirement age:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In millions of | |
|
|
Korean Won) | |
|
|
| |
2005
|
|
W |
1 |
|
2006
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2 |
|
2008
|
|
|
3 |
|
2009
|
|
|
6 |
|
2010 ~ 2014
|
|
|
57 |
|
The above amounts were determined based on the employees
current salary rates and the number of service years that will
be accumulated upon their retirement date. These amounts do not
include amounts that might be paid to employees that will cease
working with the Company before their normal retirement age.
In February and April, 2002, the Company entered into agreements
with Sunny YNK, Inc. (Sunny YNK) pursuant to which
the Company granted it the exclusive right to distribute
RAGNAROK for a contractual period of three years from the date
RAGNAROK was first commercialized. As a result of the receipt of
exclusive distribution rights, Sunny YNK loaned the Company
W7,000 million at the inception of the agreement, which it
is accounted as debt in the accompanying balance sheet, in
accordance with EITF No. 88-18, Sales of Future
Revenues.
As there is no interest rate stated in the agreement with Sunny
YNK, the interest is imputed based on the difference between the
principal amount of the loan and the total payments expected to
be made pursuant to the agreement, Accordingly, the repayment of
principal balance to Sunny YNK is variable each year in
accordance
F-15
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
with amount of annual revenue generated from distribution of
RAGNAROK and deduction of annual interest expense allocated
using the interest rate method.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Korean | |
|
|
Won) | |
Loans, representing obligations principally to Sunny YNK Inc Due
2005
|
|
W |
3,797 |
|
|
W |
1,278 |
|
Less: Current portion
|
|
|
(2,633 |
) |
|
|
(1,278 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W |
1,164 |
|
|
W |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In accordance with this agreement, during the years ended
December 31, 2003 and 2004, the Company paid
W7,923 million and W6,670 million to Sunny YNK,
respectively. Of these payments, W2,749 million and
W2,333 million were allocated to principal, and
W5,174 million and W4,337 million were allocated to
interest, respectively.
|
|
9. |
Commitments and Contingencies |
The Company leases certain equipment and property. The
Companys operating lease consists of a property lease
expiring on December 31, 2005. Rental expense incurred
under this operating lease were approximately W346 million,
W769 million and W956 million for the years ended
December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively. The
Companys equipment capital lease agreement expired on
March, 2004.
Future minimum lease payments for the leases as of
December 31, 2004, are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2005 | |
|
2006 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of | |
|
|
Korean Won) | |
Operating lease
|
|
W |
728 |
|
|
W |
5 |
|
As of December 31, 2004, GRAVITY is authorized to issue a
total of 40 million shares with a par value of
W500 per share, in registered form, consisting of common
shares and non-voting preferred shares. Of this authorized
amount, GRAVITY is authorized to issue non-voting preferred
shares for up to 2 million shares. Under the articles of
incorporation, holders of non-voting preferred shares are
entitled to dividends of not less than 1% and up to 15% of the
par value of such shares the exact rate to be determined by
GRAVITYs board of directors at the time of issuance,
provided that the holders of preferred shares are entitled to
receive dividend at a rate not lower than that determined for
holders of common shares.
On March 14, 2003, GRAVITY issued 2,148,900 common
shares for W1,500 per share. GRAVITY recorded total gross
proceeds of W3,206 million, net of issuance costs in the
amount of W17 million.
On November 22, 2003, GRAVITYs shareholders approved
a 10-for-1 stock split which became effective on
December 25, 2003. GRAVITYs shareholders received
nine additional shares for each share they owned as of record
date of October 27, 2003. All share data has been restated
to reflect the stock splits for all periods presented.
|
|
11. |
Stock purchase option plan |
On December 24, 2004, the Companys shareholders
approved the stock purchase option plan (the Plan).
The Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options to
employees and directors. On December 24, 2004, the Company
granted certain employees options to
purchase 271,000 shares of the Companys common
stock at an exercise price of W80,000 or W70,000 per share.
Any stock options granted to an employee were not forfeited as
the employee left the Company in December 2004. The fair value
of the options at the date of the grant is
F-16
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. In
accordance with the Plan, all of options granted in 2004 vest
over four year period, with 25% vesting after two years of
continued employment, 25% vesting after three years of continued
employment, 25% vesting after four years of continued
employment, and the remaining 25% vesting after five years from
the grant date. The options that have vested for each period
should be exercised within one year from the vesting, and
options that have not been exercised during the each period
shall be deemed to be terminated.
The following table summarizes the stock options activity under
the Plan:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted-Average | |
|
Weighted-Average | |
|
|
Number of | |
|
Exercise Price | |
|
Fair Value at | |
|
|
Stock Options | |
|
Per Share | |
|
Date of Grant | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Stock options outstanding as of December 31, 2003
|
|
W |
|
|
|
W |
|
|
|
W |
|
|
|
Options granted
|
|
|
271,000 |
|
|
|
71,845 |
|
|
|
20,211 |
|
|
Options exercised
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options forfeited
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stock options outstanding as of December 31, 2004
|
|
W |
271,000 |
|
|
W |
71,845 |
|
|
W |
20,211 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The total compensation expense relating to the grant of stock
options on December 24, 2004, W5,477 million, is
recognized over the five year vesting period using the
FIN 28 model. For the years ended December 31, 2004,
the Company recognized W48 million, respectively, in stock
compensation expense for the shares granted. Stock compensation
expenses are included in selling, general and administrative
expenses and cost of revenue in the statements of operations.
There were no exercisable options at December 31, 2004.
The fair value for each option was estimated, at the date of
grant, using the Black Scholes option pricing model, with
the following weighted average assumptions:
|
|
|
|
|
Expected dividend yield
|
|
|
0% |
|
Risk-free interest rate
|
|
|
3.50% |
|
Expected volatility
|
|
|
53% |
|
Expected life (in years from vesting)
|
|
|
4.0 years |
|
Fair value of stock
|
|
|
W55,431 |
|
The fair value of the stock at the date of grant was based on
the initial public offering at NASDAQ in USA, on
February 8, 2005.
In February 2005, in accordance with the terms of the stock
options granted, the exercise prices for the outstanding options
were adjusted to the IPO price for officers, and to the IPO
price minus W10,000 for employees. This repricing created a new
measurement date for the Companys stock compensation
expenses.
The components of basic and diluted earnings per share are as
follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Korean Won, except numbers of | |
|
|
common shares and per share amounts) | |
Net income available for common shareholders (A)
|
|
W |
(496 |
) |
|
W |
14,669 |
|
|
W |
29,201 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted average outstanding shares of
common shares (B)
|
|
|
3,355,616 |
|
|
|
5,130,895 |
|
|
|
5,548,900 |
|
Earnings per share Basic and diluted (A/ B)
|
|
W |
(148 |
) |
|
W |
2,859 |
|
|
W |
5,263 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
F-17
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
The 271,000 stock options outstanding at December 31, 2004
are excluded from the Companys calculation of earnings per
share as their effect is antidilutive.
Income tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2002,
2003 and 2004 consist of the following:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Korean Won) | |
Income(loss) before income taxes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Domestic
|
|
W |
(29 |
) |
|
W |
16,146 |
|
|
W |
33,332 |
|
|
Foreign
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,058 |
|
|
|
502 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(29 |
) |
|
|
17,204 |
|
|
|
33,834 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current income taxes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Domestic
|
|
|
467 |
|
|
|
3,235 |
|
|
|
6,186 |
|
|
Foreign
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
294 |
|
|
|
309 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
467 |
|
|
|
3,529 |
|
|
|
6,495 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deferred income taxes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Domestic
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,127 |
|
|
|
2,022 |
|
|
Foreign
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(133 |
) |
|
|
71 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
994 |
|
|
|
2,093 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total income tax expense
|
|
W |
467 |
|
|
W |
2,535 |
|
|
W |
4,402 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The preceding table does not reflect the tax effects of
unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities.
The tax effect of nil, W1 million and W2 million for
the years ending December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004 is
recorded directly as other comprehensive income within
shareholders equity.
F-18
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to
significant portions of the deferred income tax assets and
deferred income tax liabilities as of December 31, 2003 and
2004 are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of | |
|
|
Korean Won) | |
Current deferred income tax assets (liabilities)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Foreign tax credit carryforwards
|
|
W |
528 |
|
|
W |
2,395 |
|
|
Tax credit carryforwards for research and human resource
development
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
351 |
|
|
Net operating loss carryforwards in Japan
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
86 |
|
|
Accrued expense
|
|
|
64 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
Accrued income
|
|
|
(31 |
) |
|
|
(17 |
) |
|
Deferred expense
|
|
|
(58 |
) |
|
|
(54 |
) |
|
Unrealized gain and losses on securities
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
Other
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
503 |
|
|
|
2,771 |
|
|
Less: Valuation allowance
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(86 |
) |
|
Less: Other comprehensive income of deferred tax asset
(liability)
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W |
504 |
|
|
W |
2,684 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-current deferred income tax assets (liabilities)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Depreciation and amortization
|
|
W |
190 |
|
|
W |
139 |
|
|
Deferred income
|
|
|
163 |
|
|
|
52 |
|
|
Impairment on other investment
|
|
|
192 |
|
|
|
192 |
|
|
Provisions for severance benefits
|
|
|
55 |
|
|
|
145 |
|
|
Deferred expense
|
|
|
(46 |
) |
|
|
(21 |
) |
|
Unremitted earnings of subsidiaries
|
|
|
(74 |
) |
|
|
(111 |
) |
|
Other
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
490 |
|
|
|
403 |
|
|
Less: Valuation allowance
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W |
490 |
|
|
W |
403 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deferred income tax assets are recognized only to the extent
that realization of the related tax benefit is more likely than
not. Realization of the future tax benefits related to the
deferred tax assets is dependent on many factors, including the
Companys ability to generate taxable income within the
period during which the temporary differences reverse, the
outlook for the economic environment in which the Company
operates, and the overall future industry outlook.
In 2003 and 2004, the Company generated sufficient taxable
profits during the year, such that, based on its assessment of
the other factors listed above, management has determined that
it is more likely than not that the Company will realize its
deferred tax assets in the future and, accordingly, has not
recorded a valuation allowance at each balance sheet date.
As of December 31, 2004, GRAVITY Entertainment Corp.,
the Companys 100% owned consolidated subsidiary in Japan,
had available loss carryforwards of W311 million which
expire in 2011. Based on this subsidiarys historical and
projected net and taxable income, the Company determined that it
would not be able to
F-19
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
realize these loss carryforwards, and have recognized a
valuation allowance of W86 million, on the full amount of
the available loss carryforwards, at an effective rate expected
to be incurred in Japan.
As of December 31, 2004, the Company also has foreign tax
credit carryforwards and tax credit carryforwards for research
and human resource development of W2,395 million and
W351 million, respectively, which expire from 2005 to 2009.
The statutory income tax rate, including tax surcharges,
applicable to the Company was approximately 29.7% in 2003 and
2004. The statutory income tax rate was amended to 27.5%,
effective for fiscal years beginning January 1, 2005 in
accordance with the Corporate Income Tax Law amended on
December 30, 2003.
Currently, the Company is entitled to a reduced tax rate of
14.85% by virtue of the Special Tax Treatment Control Law of
Korea, which is 50% of the statutory tax rate and applied to
certain designated venture companies. In the year 2005, the
Company will reapply for its designation as a venture company.
However it is uncertain as to whether the Company will obtain
this designation. However, even if the Company ceases to enjoy
the 50% reduction in corporate income tax rate in 2005, the
Company will instead be entitled to a special tax exemption of
10% in corporate income tax rate for fiscal year 2005 by virtue
of being a small-and medium-sized company. Accordingly, deferred
income taxes as of December 31, 2004 were calculated based
on the rate of 24.75% and 27.50% for the amounts expected to be
realized during the fiscal year 2005, 2006 and thereafter,
respectively.
A reconciliation of income tax expense at the Korean statutory
income tax rate to actual income tax expense is as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Korean Won) | |
Tax expense at Korean statutory tax rate
|
|
W |
(8 |
) |
|
W |
5,110 |
|
|
W |
10,049 |
|
Income tax exemption
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
(2,555 |
) |
|
|
(5,025 |
) |
Tax credit carryforwards for research and human resource
development
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(351 |
) |
Foreign tax differential
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
274 |
|
|
|
108 |
|
Income not assessable for tax purpose
|
|
|
(40 |
) |
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
(254 |
) |
Expense not deductible for tax purpose
|
|
|
431 |
|
|
|
185 |
|
|
|
100 |
|
Change in statutory tax rate
|
|
|
(18 |
) |
|
|
(110 |
) |
|
|
2 |
|
Change in valuation allowances
|
|
|
89 |
|
|
|
(299 |
) |
|
|
86 |
|
True up of prior year tax return
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(242 |
) |
Others
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
(69 |
) |
|
|
(71 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total income tax expense
|
|
W |
467 |
|
|
W |
2,535 |
|
|
W |
4,402 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
F-20
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
|
|
14. |
Operations by Geographic Area |
Geographic information for the years ended December 31,
2002, 2003 and 2004 is based on the location of the distribution
entity. Revenues by geographic region are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Korean Won) | |
Korea
|
|
W |
7,304 |
|
|
W |
16,475 |
|
|
W |
13,524 |
|
United States
|
|
|
137 |
|
|
|
2,374 |
|
|
|
3,528 |
|
Japan
|
|
|
1,121 |
|
|
|
9,658 |
|
|
|
18,182 |
|
Taiwan
|
|
|
1,253 |
|
|
|
8,632 |
|
|
|
15,368 |
|
Thailand
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,610 |
|
|
|
5,503 |
|
China
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,800 |
|
|
|
2,657 |
|
Other
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
882 |
|
|
|
5,678 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W |
9,816 |
|
|
W |
42,431 |
|
|
W |
64,440 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
15. |
Related Party Transactions |
As of December 31, 2004, the Company provided loans to
employees for housing amounting to W12 million at an annual
interest rate of 9%
During the years ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004,
there were related party transactions with a major shareholder
and an equity investee as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Korean Won) | |
Purchases from related parties
|
|
W |
346 |
|
|
W |
721 |
|
|
W |
1,096 |
|
Amounts due from related parties
|
|
|
900 |
|
|
|
3,800 |
|
|
|
3,899 |
|
Amounts due to related parties
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
305 |
|
A majority of the purchase transactions have resulted from
annual rental expenses paid to its major shareholder for rental
of its premises.
Most of due from balances have resulted from leasehold deposits
remitted to its major shareholder. The balances are included in
the leasehold and other deposits balance in the accompanying
balance sheet.
Due to balance represents amount of accrued expenses payable to
equity investee. The balance is included in the other current
assets balance in the accompanying balance sheet.
The major shareholder provided guarantees up to a maximum of
W300 million for the Companys capital lease in
February 2003. The capital lease agreement was completed in
March, 2004 and as result guarantees were not required
subsequent to this time.
On February 20, 2003, the Company obtained a loan of
W3,000 million at an annual interest rate of 18% from
IAMBiz Co., Ltd. On September 30, 2003, the company
fully repaid the loan to IAMBiz Co., Ltd. On
October 1, 2003, IAMBiz Co., Ltd. acquired 4.99% of
the companys outstanding common shares. On
October 31, 2003, the Company disposed its sticker photo
division, together with mobile phones and digital and other
cameras to IAMBiz Co., Ltd. for proceeds of
W510 million. On December 10, 2003, the Company also
disposed its license to a horse racing game to IAMBiz Co.,
Ltd. for proceeds of W20 million. IAMBiz Co., Ltd.
changed its name to Rhoceo Co., Ltd. on November 11,
2004
F-21
GRAVITY CO., LTD.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
|
|
16. |
Supplemental Cash Flow Information and Non-Cash Activities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(In millions of Korean Won) | |
Supplemental cash flow information
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash paid during the year for income taxes
|
|
W |
467 |
|
|
W |
3,343 |
|
|
W |
6,805 |
|
Interest paid
|
|
|
1,443 |
|
|
|
6,306 |
|
|
|
4,751 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W |
1,910 |
|
|
W |
9,649 |
|
|
W |
11,556 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental non-cash activities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increase of available-for-sale securities
|
|
W |
450 |
|
|
W |
|
|
|
W |
|
|
Increase of capital lease asset
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
603 |
|
|
|
|
|
In January 2005, the Company commercially launched another
massively multiplayer online role playing game, R.O.S.E. Online.
The Company registered 8,000,000 shares of American
Depository Shares (ADS) on NASDAQ in the United
States of America on February 8, 2005. Of the total shares
registered, the Company sold 5,600,000 ADSs, and the
existing shareholders sold 2,400,000 ADSs. Total cash
received by the Company after issue costs was
W71,863 million.
In May 2005, the initial acquirers and shareholders of the ADSs
filed a number of class action complaints for violation of
federal securities law in the United States District Court for
the Southern District of New York. The complaints identify the
Company and certain of its officers as defendants, and claim
that the Company issued false and a misleading registration
statement/ prospectus in connection with its initial public
offering. The Company believes that the claims are without merit
and intends to defend the case vigorously.
In May 2005, the Company entered into share purchase agreements
to acquire an aggregate of 88% of voting shares of Trigger
Soft Corp.
In June 2005, the Company entered into a publishing agreement
with Sonnori Co., Ltd. to publish an online casual game
portal STYLIA and has publishing rights for six
months in Korea, and for five years in overseas.
F-22
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
.1* |
|
Articles of Incorporation (English translation) |
|
2 |
.1* |
|
Form of Stock Certificate of Registrants common stock, par
value W500 per share |
|
2 |
.1** |
|
Form of Deposit Agreement among Registrant, The Bank of New
York, as depositary, and all holders and beneficial owners of
American depositary shares evidenced by American depositary
receipts, including the form of American depositary receipt ** |
|
4 |
.1* |
|
Agreement on the Development of RAGNAROK Online, dated
June 26, 2000, between Myoung-Jin Lee and Registrant
(translation in English) |
|
4 |
.2* |
|
Agreement on the Exclusive License of Copyright Regarding
Ragnarok Game Services, dated June 26, 2000, between
Myoung-Jin Lee and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.3* |
|
Cooperation Agreement on Ragnarok Game Services, dated
May 31, 2002, between Myoung-Jin Lee and Registrant
(translation in English) |
|
4 |
.4* |
|
Agreement on Factual Matters, dated November 19, 2002,
between Myoung-Jin Lee and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.5* |
|
Agreement on Ragnarok Game Services and Related Matters, dated
January 22, 2003, between Myoung-Jin Lee and Registrant
(translation in English) |
|
4 |
.6* |
|
Agreement, dated June 3, 2003, between Myoung-Jin Lee and
Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.7* |
|
Agreement, dated October 27, 2004, between Myoung-Jin Lee
and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.8* |
|
Investment Agreement, dated February 19, 2002, between
Sunny YNK Inc. and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.9* |
|
Agreement, dated February 21, 2002, between Sunny YNK Inc.
and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.10 |
|
Share Purchase Agreement, dated May 3, 2005, between
Mr. Moon Kyu Kim and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.11* |
|
Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated July 24,
2002, between GungHo Online Entertainment Inc. (formerly
ONSALE Japan K.K.) (licensee in Japan) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.12* |
|
Amendment to Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
September 23, 2004, between GungHo Online Entertainment
Inc. (licensee in Japan) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.13* |
|
Ragnarok Exclusive License and Distribution Agreement, dated
May 20, 2002, between Soft-World International Corporation
(licensee in Taiwan and Hong Kong) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.14* |
|
Fourth Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and
Distribution Agreement, dated October 19, 2004, between
Soft-World International Corporation (licensee in Taiwan and
Hong Kong) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.15* |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
October 21, 2002, among Soft-World International
Corporation, Value Central Corporation (licensee in China) and
Registrant |
|
4 |
.16 |
|
Fourth Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok License and
Distribution Agreement, dated May 18, 2005, among
Soft-World International Corporation, Value Central Corporation
(licensee in China) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.17* |
|
Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated June 13,
2002, between Asiasoft International Co., Ltd. (licensee in
Thailand) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.18* |
|
Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and
Distribution Agreement, dated October 27, 2004, between
Asiasoft International Co., Ltd. (licensee in Thailand) and
Registrant |
|
4 |
.19* |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
May 12, 2003, among Soft-World International Corporation,
Value Central Corporation (licensee in Malaysia and Singapore)
and Registrant |
|
4 |
.20* |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
March 25, 2003, between Level Up! Inc. (licensee in
the Philippines) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.21 |
|
Third Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok License and
Distribution Agreement, dated February 18, 2005, between
Level Up! Inc. (licensee in the Philippines) and
Registrant |
|
4 |
.22* |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
April 2, 2004, between PT. Lyto Datarindo Fortuna (licensee
in Indonesia) and Registrant |
E-1
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
.23* |
|
Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and
Distribution Agreement, dated October 29, 2004, between
PT. Lyto Datarindo Fortuna (licensee in Indonesia) and
Registrant |
|
4 |
.24* |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and Distribution Agreement,
dated November 26, 2003, between Burda Holding
International GmbH (licensee in Germany, Austria, Switzerland,
Italy and Turkey) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.25* |
|
Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok Online License and
Distribution Agreement, dated December 2, 2003, between
Burda Holding International GmbH (licensee in Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Italy and Turkey) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.26* |
|
Second Amendment to the Exclusive Ragnarok License and
Distribution Agreement, dated November 18, 2004, between
Burda Holding International GmbH (licensee in Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Italy and Turkey) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.27 |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
July 16, 2004, between Ongamenet PTY Ltd. (licensee in
Australia and New Zealand) and Registrant |
|
4 |
.28 |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok License and Distribution Agreement, dated
August 15, 2004, between Level Up! Interactive SA
(licensee in Brazil) and GRAVITY Co., Ltd. |
|
4 |
.29* |
|
Exclusive Ragnarok Software License Agreement, dated
May 24, 2004, between Level Up Network India Pvt. Ltd.
(licensee in India) and GRAVITY Co., Ltd. |
|
4 |
.30* |
|
Lease Agreement, dated August 1, 2004, between Jung Ryool
Kim and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.31* |
|
Equipment Sales Agreement, dated December 1, 2003, between
GRAVITY Interactive LLC and Registrant |
|
4 |
.32* |
|
Service and Distribution of Earnings and Profit Agreement, dated
April 1, 2003, between GRAVITY Interactive LLC and
Registrant |
|
4 |
.33* |
|
Loan Agreement, dated January 1, 2004, between GRAVITY
Entertainment Corporation, formerly
RO Production Ltd., and Registrant (translation in
English) |
|
4 |
.34* |
|
Share (syusshi-mochiban) Assignment Agreement, dated
October 25, 2004, between GungHo Online
Entertainment Inc. and Registrant |
|
4 |
.35* |
|
Joint Project Agreement for TV Animation Ragnarok,
dated October 1, 2004, among GRAVITY Entertainment,
formerly RO Production Ltd., GDH Co., Ltd., TV Tokyo
Medianet Co., Ltd., Amuse Soft Entertainment Co., Ltd. and
GNG Entertainment Inc (translation in English) |
|
4 |
.36* |
|
Ragnarok Sales Agency Agreement, dated April 10, 2002,
between Sunny YNK Inc. and Registrant (translation in English) |
|
8 |
.1 |
|
List of Registrants subsidiaries |
|
11 |
.1 |
|
Registrants Code of Business Conduct and Ethics |
|
12 |
.1 |
|
Certifications of our Chief Executive Officer required by
Rule 13a-14(a) of the Exchange Act (Certifications under
Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002), included on
the signature page hereto |
|
12 |
.2 |
|
Certifications of our Chief Financial Officer required by
Rule 13a-14(a) of the Exchange Act (Certifications under
Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002), included on
the signature page hereto |
|
13 |
.1 |
|
Certifications of our Chief Executive Officer required by
Rule 13a-14(b) and Section 1350 of Chapter 63 of
the United States Code (18 U.S.C. 1350) (Certifications
under Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002),
included on the signature page hereto |
|
13 |
.2 |
|
Certifications of our Chief Financial Officer required by
Rule 13a-14(b) and Section 1350 of Chapter 63 of
the United States Code (18 U.S.C. 1350) (Certifications
under Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002),
included on the signature page hereto |
|
|
|
|
* |
Incorporated by reference to Registrants Registration
Statement on For F-1 (File No. 333-122159) |
|
|
** |
Incorporated by reference to Registrants Registration
Statement on Form F-6 (File No. 333-122160) |
E-2