Sept. 28, 1998: Do As I Preach, and Not As I Do (https://web.archive.org/web/20111221014352/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2053845,00.html) (Time Magazine/Internet Archive)
QuoteRunning it all is the still-vigorous Moon, though the family's troubles have thrown his succession into doubt. Hyo Jin had been the heir apparent, but there is no way they are going to let him take over now, says a family friend. More likely, Moon's wife, Hak Ja Han, or another son, Hyun Jin, 29, who currently runs a church-affiliated business, will take the reins. Moon isn't talking, but the very public disintegration of his True Family portends a tempestuous transition. When the reverend passes away, they'll all be killing each other for power, says the friend. I don't think there will be anything left
April 26, 2008: Son of Moonies Founder Takes Over as Church Leader (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/26/religion.korea) (The Guardian)
QuoteSun-myung Moon, the founder of the Unification church known globally as the Moonies, has handed over control of the movement to his Harvard-educated youngest son in what is being seen as an attempt to broaden the controversial religious organisation's appeal.
In a ceremony near Seoul last week, 28-year-old Hyung-jin (Sean) Moon was anointed chairman of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, the name the church has used since the late 1990s. "I hope everyone helps him so that he may fulfil his duty as the successor of the True Parents," Moon, 88, said, in a characteristically immodest reference to himself and his wife. ...
Despite last week's apparent transfer of power few expect Moon Sr, who was convicted in the US of tax evasion in 1982, to loosen his grip on power. "He may have appointed his son, but Moon is constantly giving orders, and people do as they tell him," a former member told the Guardian. "He is unlikely to transfer any actual power to his sons."
Experts say Moon's eldest son, Hyo-jin, might have been a more obvious choice as successor but was overlooked after scandals over drugs and extramarital sex. He died of a heart attack last month, at 45. The former disciple, who left several years ago in protest at Moon's increasingly narcissistic behaviour, said he expected the church to step up its fundraising activities under Hyung Jin and to forge alliances that go well beyond its pseudo-Christian origins.
Nov. 26, 2009: Moon Family Quarrels Over Crumbling Empire (https://web.archive.org/web/20091129144531/https://adg.nwanews.com/news/2009/nov/26/moon-family-quarrels-over-crumbling-empir-20091126/) (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/The Washington Post? - Internet Archive)
QuoteBut outside the church walls, the quest for inner contentment is overshadowed by a fractious Moon family dispute. This month's abrupt purging of top executives at The Washington Times, which Moon founded and subsidized, and downturns at some Moon connected businesses have rattled some Unificationists already worried about what will happen to their movement after the passing of its 89-year-old founder. ...
The ranks of the church's U.S. followers have thinned since the movement's heyday in the 1970s, according to church officials. In an attempt to retain young members, the church recently liberalized its marriage policies so parents, not just clergy, can match men and women to take part in the movement's mass weddings.Worldwide, the church has about 110,000 "adherents," according to a report in the Times in October. Church officials, however, have cited membership figures in the millions in recent weeks. Last month, the church announced that Moon was passing day-to-day control to his three U.S.-educated sons.
But an apparent feud broke out this month between two of them when Hyun-jin Moon, often known by his American name, Preston, and Hyung-jin (Sean) Moon, issued dueling memos asserting competing claims of control over portions of their father's empire.
July 22, 2010: A 'Common Sense' Approach to Leadership: An Interview With Kook-jin Justin Moon (https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2923583) (Korea JoongAng Daily)
QuoteThe Tongil Group is owned by the Unification Foundation, and the mission of the foundation is to support the Unification Church. I am a member of the church and the members of the foundation's board of directors are members of the church. For these reasons, I can not foresee a situation in which the foundation and its business group could be completely separate from the church.
May 2, 2011: Rev. Moons Family Embroiled in Lawsuit (https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/20110502/rev-moons-family-embroiled-in-lawsuit) (The Korea Times)
2012June 22: South Korea: In The Kingdom of Reverend Moon (Al Jazeera)
Sept. 2: Rev. Sun-myung Moon Dies at Age 92 (https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2012/09/02/Rev-Sun-Myung-Moon-dies-at-age-92/UPI-21891346611541/) (UPI - Owned by Hyun-jin Preston Moon)
Sept. 3: Two Sons to Lead Unification Empire (https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/lifestyle/others/20120903/two-sons-to-lead-unification-empire) (The Korea Times)
Sept. 3: Founder's Death Unlikely to Bring Major Change to Unification Church (https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/20120903/founders-death-unlikely-to-bring-major-change-to-unification-church) (The Korea Times)
Sept. 3: 'Moonies' Founder Sun-myung Moon Dies (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-03/unification-church-founder-sun-myung-moon-dies/4239068) (ABC News)
Sept. 3: Unification Church Leaders Vow to Complete Rev. Moon's Mission (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/unification-church-leaders-vow-to-complete-rev-moons-mission/2012/09/03/ae8c23f4-f5ec-11e1-91cb-58c92a8a140e_story.html) (The Washington Post)
Quote"He'll always be the messiah to us, and messiahs do not die," said the Rev. Zagery Oliver, 56, who was recruited into Moon's movement when "a beautiful young Japanese woman engaged me on the campus" of Queens College in New York City 35 years ago.
"We're confident we're going to grow and expand," said Randall Francis, the Unification Church's district pastor for the Mid-Atlantic states. ...Francis, who was introduced to the Unification Church at a rally Moon held at the Washington Monument in 1976 and has been married for 30 years to a Japanese woman to whom he was assigned by Moon, said that despite the battle among Moon's children ("a very painful situation for our whole church family") and "the natural downsizing of some of the business entities," the religion "has become a little more accepted in society as we became families and seemed less radical."
Sept. 4: Sun Myung Moon's Death Leaves Conservative Newspaper at a Crossroads (https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/09/04/sun-myung-moons-death-leaves-conservative-newspaper-at-a-crossroads?) (US News)
Sept. 4: Feuds A Concern As Children Inherit Moon's Empire (https://www.yahoo.com/news/feuds-concern-children-inherit-moons-empire-135452188.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAL0AL_QWQTTEw-QEEKvS3eat1e3Hj15ZFq1FnXFtssnl9snF3BftIRPgjw34v_9YR7y-R1BujvwRcfk09KbWiMi8KxTftwXr4451JU4dap5tAaebmEzqLU-Joeu8pofKCV3JrsRYS-KoaKpPR7j1XxDp7L3nXLuQ-Yjnru8fW5fh) (Yahoo News)
Sept. 4: Rev. Moon Oversaw Large, Often Bickering Brood (https://www.deseret.com/2012/9/4/20433652/rev-moon-oversaw-large-often-bickering-brood/) (Deseret News)
Sept. 5: Moon & Wife 'True Parents' but Children Suffered Estrangement, Tragedy - & Reality TV (https://www.yahoo.com/news/moon-wife-true-parents-children-suffered-estrangement-tragedy-113715368.html) (Yahoo News)
Sept. 6: Moon Sun-myung's Legacy (https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/opinion/20120906/moon-sun-myungs-legacy) (Donald Kirk for The Korea Times)
Sept. 11: Moon Wake Shows Family Tension (https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2012/09/11/Moon-wake-shows-family-tension/82041347355851/) (UPI - Owned by Hyun-jin Preston Moon)
QuoteThe Rev. Sun Myung Moon's eldest son Dr. Hyun Jin (Preston) Moon's car was blocked from proceeding to his father's wake by security guards.
Hyun Jin Moon arrived at World Center in Gapyeong County to pay his respects to his father whom he has not been able to see since being asked to leave his father's side at St. Mary's Hospital in late August.
Sept. 15: Funeral for Rev. Moon Draws Thousands (https://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/15/world/asia/south-korea-moon-funeral) (CNN)
Sept. 15: Thousands of Faithful at Funeral of UC Founder
2021June 17: D.C. Court of Appeals Zoom Oral Arguments (From 2 hours 15 minutes & 30 seconds)
Sept. 7: Lengthy Lawsuit Exposes Rifts Within Unification Church (https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/530522/lengthy-lawsuit-exposes-rifts-within-unification-church/) (Washington City Paper)
QuoteIf the Sunni-Shia schism or Martin Luther's revolt against Catholicism had taken place in an American courtroom, they might have resembled the scene at the D.C. Court of Appeals (or rather, on its split-screen simulcast) on June 17 (See above).
There, lawyers representing two of the main factions of the post-Reverend Sun Myung Moon Unification Church debated whether Unificationism was a religious denomination or a nondenominational movement and which exact peace festivals (there were many) Reverend Moon supported while he was alive. They became particularly entangled with the meta-issue of how to characterize their fight, with the defendants claiming it was a dispute over religious doctrine and leadership and therefore off limits to the court under the First Amendment, and the plaintiffs claiming it was a case about misappropriation of church property and violations of nonprofit law.
2025Jan. 9: DC Court Asked to Limit Use of 'Ecclesial Abstention' When Fraud is Involved (https://baptistnews.com/article/dc-court-asked-to-limit-use-of-ecclesial-abstention-when-fraud-is-involved/) (Baptist News Global)
July 3: Family Federation for World Peace and Unification International v. Moon (https://law.justia.com/cases/district-of-columbia/court-of-appeals/2025/23-cv-0838.html) (Justia - US Law)
QuoteThe case involves a dispute within the Unification Church, also known as the Unification Movement, following a schism and succession conflict. The plaintiffs, including the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification International, filed a complaint in 2011 against defendants, including Unification Church International (UCI) and its president, Hyun Jin (Preston) Moon. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants engaged in actions contrary to the church's mission, including amending UCI's articles of incorporation and transferring assets to entities like the Kingdom Investments Foundation (KIF) and the Global Peace Foundation (GPF).
The Superior Court of the District of Columbia initially granted partial summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, finding that the defendants' actions were inconsistent with UCI's original purposes. However, the court's decision was reversed on appeal in Moon III, where it was held that resolving the plaintiffs' claims would require deciding disputed religious questions, making them nonjusticiable under the First Amendment's religious abstention doctrine. The case was remanded for further proceedings.
On remand, the trial court dismissed the remaining claims with prejudice. The court found that the plaintiffs lacked special interest standing to pursue their self-dealing claims against Preston Moon after Moon III, as the claims no longer involved extraordinary measures threatening UCI's existence. The court also determined that the contract claims were nonjusticiable under the religious abstention doctrine, as resolving them would require interpreting religious terms and doctrines. The court declined to apply the potential fraud or collusion exception to the religious abstention doctrine, finding no evidence of bad faith for secular purposes.
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's orders, agreeing that the plaintiffs' claims were nonjusticiable and that they lacked special interest standing. The court also upheld the trial court's decision to deny the plaintiffs' motion to reopen discovery, finding no abuse of discretion. The litigation, which spanned over a decade, was thereby brought to a close.
July 4: Unification Church Loses 14 Year Suit Against Founder's Son (https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/unification-church-loses-14-year-suit-against-founders-son) (Bloomberg Law)
Sept. 21: Moon Fortune to Stay in Zug Foundation (https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-position/moon-fortune-to-stay-in-zug-foundation/90026322)(Swiss Info)
QuoteIt's the end of a protracted legal battle. On July 3, 2025, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals put an end to one of the longest legal disputes over the will of the reverend Sun Myung Moon, late founder of the Unification Church, better known as the Moonies. The background to all of this was the transfer of a fortune amounting to several hundred million dollars into a foundation in Zug, Switzerland.
The American court turned down all the petitions by the widow of the reverend, Hak-ja Han Moon, and their youngest son, Hyung-jin (Sean) Moon , against their rival Preston Moon, eldest son of the deceased Korean guru. The judges found that decisions of this man were an internal religious matter. Civil courts are not in a position to decide on this sort of dispute, it being excluded by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.