Rev. Moon oversaw large, often bickering brood
By FOSTER KLUGBy FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press?
?A photo of Rev. Sun Myung Moon rests inside a Unification Church in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. Moon, the self-proclaimed messiah who founded the church, died Monday, Sept. 3, 2012, at a church-owned hospital near his home in Gapyeong County, northeast of Seoul, church officials said. He was 92. (AP Photo/Hye Soo Nah)
A photo of Rev. Sun Myung Moon rests inside a Unification Church in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. Moon, the self-proclaimed messiah who founded the church, died Monday, Sept. 3, 2012, at a church-owned hospital near his home in Gapyeong County, northeast of Seoul, church officials said. He was 92. (AP Photo/Hye Soo Nah)
FILE - In this July 22, 2012 file photo, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, second from left, poses with his wife Hak Ja Han Moon, second from right, his sons Hyung-jin Moon, left, and Kook Jin Moon during the closing ceremony of the 2012 Peace Cup Suwon at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, South Korea. The late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who died Monday, Sept. 3 at 92, had 13 children with his wife, Hak Ja Han Moon. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
Followers pray for the Rev. Sun Myung Moon during a service at a Unification Church in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. Moon, the self-proclaimed messiah who founded the church, died Monday at a church-owned hospital near his home in Gapyeong County, northeast of Seoul, church officials said. He was 92. (AP Photo/Hye Soo Nah)
In this Sept. 16, 2009 photo, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's youngest son, Hyung-jin Moon speaks during an interview in Seoul, South Korea. Unification Church patriarch Sun Myung Moon leaves behind children who have been groomed to lead a religious movement famous for its mass weddings and business interests - if family feuds don't bring down the empire. Moon, the charismatic and controversial founder of the church, died Monday, Sept. 3, 2012, at age 92 at a church-owned hospital near his home in Gapyeong County, northeast of Seoul, two weeks after being hospitalized with pneumonia, church officials said. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
In this Sept. 16, 2009 photo, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's son, Kook-jin Moon, a chairman of Seoul-based Tongil Business Group, speaks during an interview at his office in Seoul, South Korea. Unification Church patriarch Sun Myung Moon leaves behind children who have been groomed to lead a religious movement famous for its mass weddings and business interests - if family feuds don't bring down the empire. Moon, the charismatic and controversial founder of the church, died Monday, Sept. 3, 2012, at age 92 at a church-owned hospital near his home in Gapyeong County, northeast of Seoul, two weeks after being hospitalized with pneumonia, church officials said. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? The late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the Unification Church founder who died this week at 92, had 13 children with his second wife, Hak Ja Han Moon, according to the church. He and his wife are revered by followers as the "True Parents," but their children have suffered estrangements, deaths, suicide, lawsuits, public bickering, the airing of intimate secrets ? and one reality TV show appearance. Here's a look at some of the more prominent Moon children:
HYO-JIN MOON
The Moons' eldest son, he reportedly died of a heart attack in 2008. Born in 1962, he was a musician and producer and recorded more than a dozen albums, according to a church-affiliated website. His former wife, Nonsook Hong, claimed he was an alcoholic and drug addict who beat her, including while she was seven months pregnant with their fifth child. He was given huge amounts of cash by his mother that he used to buy cocaine and throw parties, Hong told the U.S. television news program "60 Minutes" in 1998. She said she was chosen by the Rev. Moon to marry Hyo-jin when she was 15.
HYUN-JIN PRESTON MOON
Born in 1969, he went to Columbia and Harvard Business School and twice competed in the Olympics for the South Korean equestrian team, according to the church-affiliated website. He played a leading role in church business and media interests, including the Washington Times newspaper, but he has also been involved in rifts with his siblings and parents. His company sued his mother's missionary group in 2011, demanding the return of more than $22 million the company claimed was sent without its consent to her group. A court ruled that the money was a loan but ordered it returned, the church said. Preston is still in charge of a church organization in the United States, Unification Church International, but church officials said they have asked him to leave the job.
HYUNG-JIN SEAN MOON
Born in New York in 1979 and educated at Harvard, he is the Moons' youngest son and the church head. He practiced Buddhism when younger, shaving his head and wearing monastic robes, and said he turned to the religion after a brother died in what U.S. officials called a suicide. He said he worried about his father's reaction to the religious decision but the Rev. Moon told followers not to criticize him. He titled a book of his essays, "A Bald Head and a Strawberry." He was chosen to lead the church in 2008. He is more fluent in English than Korean, and many of his English sermons are designed to appeal to young followers.
KOOK-JIN JUSTIN MOON
Justin, 42, was the last of the children born in South Korea and also went to Harvard, the church website said. He runs the Tongil Group, the church's business arm, and owns U.S.-based gun manufacturer Kahr Arms.
YEON-JIN KAT MOON
Born in the United States, she is a graduate of New York University in journalism and economics, according to the church-affiliated website. She also briefly appeared on a TV reality show in the U.S., "Survival of the Richest," in 2006. Press reviews of the first episode reported her family fortune as $989 million and said she claimed to suffer from "chronic boredom" ? and that she was voted off the show by the other rich kids at the end of the first episode.
YOUNG-JIN MOON
The 21-year-old committed suicide in 1999 by jumping from the 17th floor of a hotel in downtown Reno, Nevada, local officials said. He had been visiting the University of Nevada campus and considering whether to study hotel management there or at home in Las Vegas, church officials said at the time. Young-jin was said to not be heavily involved in the church. A church newsletter said his November 1997 wedding "set the stage for the blessing of 3.6 million couples worldwide."
HEUNG-JIN MOON
The 17-year-old died in 1984 when the car he was driving collided with a tractor-trailer in New York. He had been engaged to the prima ballerina daughter of Bo Hi Pak, the head of the church's Korean Cultural Foundation, and their wedding went ahead as planned despite his death. He was wed posthumously in a "spiritual" marriage to Julia Moon, who is now a prominent figure in South Korea's arts scene.
UN-JIN MOON
Un-jin, another daughter, told "60 Minutes" in 1998 that she was estranged from her parents. When she told her parents that her husband beat her, they responded that she deserved it, she said. She also told the TV program that she knew Moon had at least one illegitimate son.
SUNG-JIN MOON
Sung-jin was born in 1946 to Rev. Moon and his first wife, Choi Sun-kil. He lives in Japan, according to church officials and a church defector, Lee Young-sun.
IN-JIN MOON
The Moons' third daughter was born in South Korea and moved to the United States with her family in 1973, the church-affiliated website said. She went to Columbia and Harvard and was appointed president and CEO of the Unification Church in America in August 2008, according to the website.
Associated PressNews Topics: General news, Reality TV, Television programs, Firearms manufacturing, Entertainment, Arts and entertainment, Weapons manufacturing, Aerospace and defense, Industrial products and services, Industries, Businessmerle haggard ladainian tomlinson mark wahlberg pipa keystone xl sopa bill sopa and pipa
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