Korean 'messiah' leaves behind religious and business empire (+video)

The Rev. Moon Sun-myung, who called himself the “messiah” and founded a global religious movement as well as far-flung business interests, died Monday at his Unification Church complex east of South Korea's capital, Seoul, surrounded by family members and well-wishers.

Famed globally for his cult following of “Moonies” dedicated to worshiping him as a savior of mankind, the Rev. Moon came to be known for presiding with his wife over mass weddings of couples whom he had united on the basis of photographs and brief life stories. He also built up a global commercial empire, founding The Washington Times 30 years ago along with newspapers in Seoul and Tokyo and numerous other enterprises in fields ranging from publishing to tourism to fishing.

A political rightist and a religious zealot who claimed to have been ordained by God to minister to the world, Moon defied simplistic analysis and type-casting. Despite his conservatism, he passionately espoused relations with North Korea. Obsessed with his self-image, he attracted followers with calls for tolerance embracing all people.

Moon leaves behind a struggling and divided religious and business empire with tentacles spreading from Korea to Japan, the United States, South America, and Europe. The question now is whether the empire can overcome divisions among sons and daughters and regain the strength of its glory days in the 1960s and '70s as a religious and commercial force.

A prolific man

Moon’s wife, Hak Ja-han, whom he married 10 years after fleeing captivity in North Korea in the Korean War and walking 300 miles to the South Korean port of Pusan, was at his side along with many of their sons, daughters, and grandchildren when he passed away at the age of 92.

Moon liked to say that he and his wife, who often led cheering congregations in song, were the “true parents” of the world’s people. The Moons had seven sons and seven daughters. Moon also had another son by his first wife, whom he divorced shortly before marrying Hak Ja-han, and other children in extramarital relationships.

Moon Kook-Jin, raised as “Justin” in the US, and youngest brother Moon Hyung-jin, known as “Sean,” have vowed as leaders of their father’s spiritual and commercial interests in Korea to perpetuate his controversial legacy. Justin Moon runs the Tongil Foundation, the group’s central business organization in Seoul, while Sean Moon is international leader of the church, which claims several million members.

Justin Moon’s foundation, however, has long been at odds with US-based business interests run by brother Moon Hyun-jin, that is, “Preston” Moon.

Their older sister, Moon In-jin, called “Tatiana,” commands her own organization in the US as president of the Unification Church USA. Two years ago she helped to rescue The Washington Times, which has lost more than $2 billion since Moon founded it in 1982, by purchasing it from Preston’s group for $1 and reviving news and sports coverage.

A farmer's son

The wheeling and dealing of Moon and his progeny were often shrouded in secrecy, but the deepest mystery was how he came to possess the drive and vision needed to lead a global network of churches and enterprises involved in an amazing range of activities.

Born to a Christian farming family in North Korea, educated for two years in World War II at Waseda, a prestigious university in Tokyo, he returned to North Korea after the war to spread his religious message. Imprisoned by the North’s communist regime in 1948 for his teachings, he escaped two years later after the outbreak of the Korean War when US planes bombed the prison, killing many and breaking down the walls.

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