March 18, 2008
Hyo Jin Moon died

Hyo Jin Stephen Moon, the eldest son of Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han, died in the morning of March 17, 2008 of a heart attack. He was in Korea at that time.

Hyo Jin Moon was a very controversial figure in the Unification Movement. Once considered the successor of Sun Myung Moon he lost his status largely due to excessive drug and alcohol abuse in the 1990s.

He was divorced from his wife Nan Sook Hong with whom he had five children. The oldest son of that marriage died in a car accident in 2006.

Hyo Jin Moon remarried in 1999. He has four children with his second wife Yun Ah Choi. Recently he took some positions in media enterprises and accompanied his mother on travels to Africa where he delivered public addresses in several nations.

I saw him a few times when he spoke to the membership in Korea. He seemed to be genuinely concerned to make up for mistakes of his past. He apologized to the members. He expressed gratitude and respect for his parents and said he would be support his Father as long as he lives.

Sun Myung Moon wrote a special calligraphy on the occasion of his son’s death which says (translation from Korean): “He will open and liberate the deepest heaven and turn it into a flower garden as the lord who opens the door of loyalty and filial piety.”

I never spoke to Hyo Jin Moon personally. For me, he was the son of a man that I respect deeply.

Copyright © Cultural Communications, 2005. All rights reserved.

Hyo Jin Moon, June 2006