On March 22, 1997, Dr. Sang Hun Lee passed away at Joong Ang Hospital in Seoul, Korea at the age of 84. He was attending the Ninth Annual Unification Thought Symposium, held March 19-23, 1997 at the Hotel Lotte in Seoul. Dr. Lee was the keynote speaker at the Symposium. He had also attended the welcoming dinner banquet on the occasion of our True Parents' triumphant return to Korea, held several days earlier on March 19 in the Lotte. Due to this strenuous schedule, he became ill, was admitted to the hospital and passed away around 3am on March 22.

His Seung Hwa ceremony, under the auspices of the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, was held on March 24, 1997. Many representatives of the church movement and businesses attended the ceremony. The Won Jeun ceremony was performed by the church dignitaries at the 36 Blessed Couples Won Jeun site, located at Juk Sun-myun, Pajugun, Kyonggido province.

His contribution to our church movement was enormous. Born in 1914, he became a medical doctor after attending Severance Medical School in Seoul, Korea. While practicing medicine, he continued to search for absolute truth, the solution to fundamental human problems and the essence of the universe. He struggled with many questions until he met our True Father. Finally, he and his wife received the Blessing in the 36 Couple Blessing in 1961. He served as president of the International Federation for Victory Over Communism for many years, teaching about the inevitable downfall of communism and a new value system to overcome Marxism-Leninism.

Since 1972, Dr. Lee has served as the president of the Unification Thought Institute of Korea. During this time, he developed and systematized Unification Principles into the philosophical framework called Unification Thought. He trained many Unification intellectuals and church leaders, including UTS graduate Ph.D.'s. They will continue his influence on the worldwide academic community for many years to come.

He has written many books and articles in Korean, Japanese and English editions. Among his most important works are Essentials of Unification Thought, The End of Communism, Establishment of a New Value System and A New Critique of Communism. Dr. Lee was the president of the Unification Thought Institute of Korea and the chairman of the Family Federation for Unification and World Peace of Thailand.

Translated and edited from the April 1997 issue of Tongil Segye monthly.

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