| Hyo Jin Moon | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 문효진 |
| Hanja | 文孝進 |
| Revised Romanization | Mun Hyo-jin |
| McCune–Reischauer | Mun Hyojin |
Hyo-Jin Moon (December 3, 1962 – March 17, 2008) was the eldest son of 14 children of Sun Myung Moon and Hakja Han Moon. For ten years he was head of the Unification Church-owned Manhattan Center Studios recording facility in New York City.[1] He served as worldwide president of the student branch of Unificationism, World CARP (Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles).[2]
At age 19 Hyo Jin was married to 15-year-old Nansook Hong, chosen for him by his father, Sun Myung Moon. During their fourteen years of marriage, they had 5 children.[3] In her autobiography, In the Shadow of the Moons, Nan Sook reports that her husband had long-term problems with substance abuse,[3][4] violent behavior,[3][5] and extra-marital sex.[3][6]
Throughout their 14 years of marriage there was a continuous problem with the issues mentioned above, including cocaine addiction and physical abuse, according to Hong.[7] Hong reports that on several occasions (and for more than one child) he punched her repeatedly while threatening to kill the baby she was carrying in her womb; describing this in an interview she relates that Hyo Jin Moon would say "It's a thrill to be violent."[8] Many former members have corroborated her assertions.[9] Fearing for her safety and that of her children,[10] Hong fled the Moon estate in Irvington, New York, in 1995 with her children, and filed for divorce.[3]
In her book, she described beatings, emotional abuse, and days when Hyo-Jin Moon would stay locked in the master bedroom “snorting cocaine and watching pornographic videos.” But she also recalled how one day her husband came to her with Bloomingdale’s shopping bags filled with a million dollars in cash. The money was earmarked for his recording studio, Manhattan Center, though Hong alleges that Hyo-Jin Moon skimmed off $400,000 for his drug addiction.
Judge Edward M. Ginsburg ruled that Hyo-Jin Moon pay $8,500 alimony and child support as well as $65,000 for Nansook's legal fees. When he failed to pay the legal fees, he was held in contempt of court and jailed. Later his legal team produced evidence that 3 weeks after his jailing he was cut off from the $84,000 a year he had been receiving from the Swiss-based "True Family Trust," and that he had lost his $60,000 job running the Manhattan Center for health reasons. Hyo Jin claimed he had run out of money and declared bankruptcy, though in the bankruptcy deposition on November 15, 1996, he confirmed that he had received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash at the Manhattan Center (that was not reported as taxable income). The money reportedly was spent on alcohol, drugs, and entertaining. Hyo Jin was prevented from visitations with his children for nearly two years due to failed drug tests.[3]
On March 17, 2008 at 9:46 am local time, Hyo-Jin Moon died in his birth country of Korea. He died of a heart attack (myocardial infarction) at the Moon family home in Hannam-dong in Seoul, South Korea. FFWPU North American Headquarters announced that his Seung-hwa (ascension) ceremony will be held on March 19, 2008 at 7:00 am at Cheongpyeong Heaven and Earth Training Center. The Wonjeon (burial) ceremony was held at Paju Wonjeon on March 19, 2008 at 11:am (Korean time).[11]