Blockchain co. Reality Reflection's board to discuss mangement reshuffle

The South Korean blockchain ecosystem is facing a string of management disputes, hit by worsening conditions of the global cryptocurrency market. 

Metaverse startup Reality Reflection is slated to hold a board of directors meeting shortly, those familiar with the development told The Korea Economic Daily. The upcoming board meeting aims to discuss whether the company’s co-founder and CEO William Son should remain in office. 

Reality Reflection is the operator of Mossland, an augmented reality (AR) monopoly game. 

Industry insiders say the meeting was requested by the startup’s Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) Noh Jung-seok. 

Despite the service being a product of Reality Reflection, Noh claimed that Son has sole ownership of Mossland. Noh is the largest shareholder of Reality Reflection.

Son has set up a nonprofit organization named the Mossland Foundation, which manages the Mossland platform’s ecosystem, where he serves as its director. 

The CEO argues that Reality Reflection and Mossland Foundation are two separate entities and that the former is merely a third-party partner responsible for the technical development of the latter. 

In other words, Son argues that Mossland belongs to the foundation and holders of the Moss Coin only. 

Experts say the ambiguous business structure of Mossland planted the seed for the dispute. 

A significant number of blockchain startups set up separate non-profit organizations that are in charge of issuing and managing cryptocurrencies related to their main businesses – in this case, Mossland. 

When the parent company does not have a legal obligation to the foundation as a separate entity, it can evade some of the responsibilities that come with operating a securities-like digital asset. 

But that separation also creates blurred lines among major shareholders of the parent company. 

Founded in 2015, Reality Reflection received investment from Kakao Games Corp., SK Telecom Co. and California-based venture capital firm 500 Global. 

Write to Da Eun Choi at max@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.