Date:27/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/27/stories/2008042756161500.htm

International

New church leader

Justin McCurry

Hyung Jin Moon

Tokyo: Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification church known as the Moonies, has handed over control of the movement to his Harvard-educated youngest son in what is seen as an attempt to broaden the controversial organisation’s appeal. In a ceremony near Seoul last week, Hyung Jin Moon, 28, was anointed chairman of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, the name the church has used since the late 1990s. “I hope everyone helps him so that he may fulfil his duty as the successor of the True Parents,” said Mr. Moon. However, few expect Moon Sr., who was convicted in the U.S. of tax evasion in 1982, to loosen his grip on power. — ©Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008