Nintendo held a shareholders meeting in Japan on Thursday where it revealed a new subsidiary will be established in Seoul, Korea, reports Famitsu. Nintendo Korea, Ltd., will be officially established on July 7, led by Nintendo representative Mineo Kouda with capital of around 3 billion yen. The purpose of the subsidiary is to strengthen sales of the Nintendo DS in the Korean market and further Nintendo's worldwide goal of expanding the gaming population.
Until 1998, imports of all Japanese movies, music and comics were illegal in Korea due to strict government restrictions. A rivalry between the nations is well documented. Over the past several decades, Japan and Korea have feuded over claimed territories and the contents of history books -- both stemming from resentment of Japan's colonial occupation of the country for the first half of the 1900s. In 1998, the South Korean government faced some economic hardships and looked to cure this with emerging technology and the unlocking of its markets. It began easing restrictions on the importation of Japanese entertainment at this time. It wasn't until January 2002, however, when the government began allowing the imports of Japanese console games. With this new gateway, Nintendo was able to wet its toes in the Korean market in April 2002 when it introduced its Game Boy Advance handheld and Pokemon software through the sales network of Daiwon C.I. Inc. When introducing these products, Korea was known for its piracy and Nintendo had been reassured that the illegal copying of software was showing a decline. Still, Nintendo planned to sell only 100,000 Game Boy Advance units and 200,000 Pokemon software pieces per year. This partnership with Daiwan was followed with the release of the Nintendo GameCube in December. It's unknown if Nintendo ever achieved its modest sales goals, however the establishment of this subsidiary is a display of Nintendo's confidence in the Korean market.
A vote was also held during the shareholders meeting on a new proposal. However, for the first time in the company's history, shareholders rejected the company proposal that would have determined the timing and size of dividends without their approval. "The proposed change was intended to give Nintendo's board a bit more autonomy, so that dividends can be paid out quickly without waiting for approval at a general shareholders' meeting," a Nintendo spokesperson told Reuters. "But apparently we could not win enough understanding from shareholders." Nintendo's two percent dividend yield is currently higher than the average 1.15 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Finally, several Wii titles including Wario Ware: Smooth Moves were said to be on display for shareholders to try. Images of the Wii hardware taken from the meeting can be seen here.