Third son (Hyun Jin Moon) of Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon files lawsuit against his mother

Yonhap News Agency
May 2, 2011

SEOUL, May 2 (Yonhap) -- The third son of Sun-myung Moon, the founder and leader of the controversial Unification Church, has filed a lawsuit against his mother to get back his company's money allegedly sent to her missionary group without his consent, court officials said Monday.

Hyun-jin Moon, 42, chairman of the Unification Church International, the parent company of Washington Times Aviation Inc. (WTA), demanded 23.8 billion won (US$22.3 million) in illegal profits be returned in the suit filed in January against the missionary foundation of the Unification Church, they said.

The missionary group is run by his mother, Hak-ja Han, 68.

"The former WTA president Joo Dong-moon made three transfers totaling 23.8 billion won from the company's account to the missionary foundation without permission after he was fired in October 2009," the younger Moon claimed in a statement submitted to the Seoul Western District Court. "The foundation should return the money."

The younger Moon lodged the civil case after the Seoul court put the money under provisional attachment in 2009, court officials said.

Sun-myung Moon, 91, is one of the world's most controversial religious figures and his business interests range from heavy machinery to media, including the U.S.-based Washington Times newspaper.

The church claims to have 3 million members worldwide.

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