Korean Evangelist Moon Says He Is Stepping Down As Church Leader

The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church and a longtime funder of Religious Right causes, has announced that he is turning control of the church over to his four children.

Three Moon sons – 30-year-old Hyung Jin Moon, Kook Jin Moon, 39, and Hyun Jin Moon, 40 – will oversee the church’s theological and business arms in the United States, South Korea and other nations, the Associated Press reported. They will be aided by a Moon daughter, In Jin Moon, who will oversee the American branch of the church.

All three Moon sons were educated in the United States and hold degrees from Harvard University.

It was unclear what the practical affect of the move will be. Although day-to-day church operations have reportedly been turned over to Hyung Jin Moon, the senior Moon, now almost 90 years old, has vowed to remain in charge. Moon depicted himself as a messiah sent by God to complete the failed ministry of Jesus.

Moon’s business empire is far flung and diverse and includes seafood distribution companies, a New York City hotel, a ballet company, a soccer team and even a weapons plant. In the United States, he is best known for owning The Washington Times, a conservative newspaper published daily in the nation’s capital.

The Times, with a circulation of about 100,000, has never turned a profit since its founding in 1982. However, it is considered an influential mouthpiece for D.C. conservatives. President Ronald Reagan once called it his favorite newspaper. The paper and its parent company, New World Communications, has been turned over to Hyun Jin Moon, who is also called “Preston.”

Hyung Jin Moon said he hopes to boost church membership and make the church more open about its fundraising practices.

In the 1980s, the elder Moon poured millions into various Religious Right organizations. Moon’s attempts to buy influence in the Religious Right were controversial, and some leaders criticized those who took the aid, asserting that Unificationist theology is at odds with biblical Christianity.

Throughout the 1990s, Moon sponsored a series of conferences, banquets and other events where he paid political leaders and Religious Right figures to give speeches. Former President George H.W. Bush appeared at several, as did the late Jack Kemp, Alexander Haig and others.

In addition, the late Jerry Falwell spoke at Moon events on several occasions, and former Christian Coalition executive director Ralph Reed did as well. (See “Moon Shadow,” July-August 2001 Church & State.)

In recent years, Moon’s church has convened a series of conferences held in the “spirit world.” According to Moon, Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin have renounced communism, nazism and their evil deeds and endorsed him from the spirit world as the messiah. In addition, numerous dead U.S. presidents have also reportedly endorsed Moon from beyond the grave.

Despite his controversial views, Moon’s political inroads were sometimes astounding. In March 2004, he was crowned as “king of America” in a ceremony in the Senate Dirksen Office Building, with at least a dozen members of Congress participating in the event.

Moon was feted in Washington, D.C., Oct. 1. A cloying article about the event that ran in The Washington Times noted that during the event, designed to mark the release of Moon’s autobiography titled As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen, the Korean evangelist received written congratulations from Bush, Haig and U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman.