It seems people are curious to know why a religious leader would be making efforts in the media business, investing significantly in that area. What would his real motives be? The short answer is that I am acutely aware that the responsibility of media is truly heavy in determining whether today's world becomes a world of peace or one of war.

The last part of the 20th century is an age when the world if governed by media. The power and responsibility of media is becoming stronger than that of an atomic warhead or any military might. Accordingly, when the media put forward sound arguments based on a consistently true viewpoint about values, the media will become the standard-bearers of world peace. When it blinds people with irresponsibility, wrong guidance and exhortations, the media will become a tool for the destruction of world peace. Recognizing this, in 1978 I established the World Media Association in the capital of America, Washington D.C., and have been holding world media conferences every year. What I am ultimately seeking as a religious leader is true world peace, which must be based on a true viewpoint of true values, and on true love. I am very well aware that the media is one social institution with greater influence than that of any government or monarch in the realization of world peace.

Today, we in the Republic of Korea are standing at the crossroads of unprecedented, historic change. Now indeed is a time when our nation must establish a new chapter in its history, one that fully displays our creative, democratic and moral capabilities.

Now indeed is an important point of time that will decide whether our nation accomplishes unification or remains an eternally divided nation, whether it sees national revival or decline. The Segye Times was born here in this land at this time like this sounding the first rallying call. The Segye Times appeared before you proclaiming to be a symbol of free media and a good example of responsible media.

The Segye Times will be cry out for justice and not condone injustice. The Segye Times will transcend party politics, will be non-denominational and will spare no effort on the people's, the nation's and the world's behalf. In short, The Segye Times will become the pride of the Korean nation and of the people of the world.

By becoming a beacon of truth that rises high in the East and the West together with The Washington Times in America, The Segye Times will become a newspaper based on reason, clearly telling truth from falsehood and a guiding light for a true and free democracy.

The Segye Times is your very own newspaper. It is your voice and your spokesperson. In other words, The Segye Times will be the voice of your conscience. (1989.2.22)

Human prosperity and world peace and unification are not only the desire of all humanity but also God's desire. The ideal of peace is realized when subject and object, whether on the individual, national or the world levels, practice true love, which means to exist for the sake of others by centering on God. By the way, love does not manifest by itself alone. It appears in the context of reciprocal relationships. Parental love bears fruit only through having children. A child's love also bears fruit only because it has parents.

It is the same in God's creation as well. The father-son relationship centered on true love was formed in order to substantialize the ideal of true love that cannot be realized by God alone. God is the True Parent among parents, True Teacher of teachers and True King of kings. God is the eternal True Parent, True Teacher and True Master who always bestows true love. As children of God, human beings have first of all to go the road of true parent, true teacher and true master just like God has. All of these roles are for the purpose of perfecting the ideal of love by supporting others, by helping them with true love, which means to exist for the sake of others.

In this way, according to the great principle of natural law, one is meant to have genuine self-accomplishment in true love, which means to live unselfishly. An ideal family is established when people are centered upon true love and the up-to-down relationship of parents, the right-to-left relationship of husband and wife and the rear-to-front relationship of brothers are harmonized. Families are expanded and a country, the world and the universe are perfected in the same way according to the same principle and formula. The world-wide foundation I have made embracing the fields of education, the media, the arts and humanitarian relief is aimed at ultimately realizing an ideal world by investing unselfish true love according to the same formula.

Ideally, education that teaches unselfish true love and is aimed toward forming the character of a true parent, a true teacher and a true master, is received first on the family level. I think that school education should be an extension of this. Also, I believe that the function of social education in true love could be effectively fulfilled on a worldwide level by media organizations. This is because the media are a public institution that guides the whole of society and thus can cause relationships of unselfish true love to be expanded. (1999.2.1)

Recently I came to establish a new mission for media, to be known as the moral media. Accordingly, I made a proposal to The Washington Times - as its objective for the next ten years - that the media "become a media that contributes to the embodiment of a moral society." I am asking The Washington Times to become a newspaper that contributes to world peace and promotes family values because world peace is possible only through creating ideal families.

The media exercises a mighty influence and power over society, to such an extent that one may say that it constitutes the fourth estate after the executive, the judiciary and the legislature. I believe that the mighty power of the media should be used for goodness and become a power which contributes to world peace.

Before being professional career persons, media people were all originally God's children. You are all champions of peace who have received a special mission in the world of morality and true peace, which God desires. As has been shown, the World Media Conference exists as an open forum for free discussion among media professionals with the purpose of making substantial the ultimate world of moral principle.

World leaders in the media! At a time when the entire world and humankind are moving forward toward the ultimate world of true peace according to God's providence, we must realize that the media has an important mission from God, which is to bring about a world of peace. The media will have to move forward courageously and boldly as leaders that promote a world of morality by combining forces with every other effort towards peace, and by exercising its notable influence in realizing one extended family of humanity in the global age. (234-234, 1992.08.22)

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