Chung Hwan Kwak

Last updated
Chung Hwan Kwak
Chung Hwan Kwak
Born (1936-01-22) January 22, 1936 (age 87)
Occupationreligious leader

Chung Hwan Kwak, (born January 22, 1936) is a South Korean religious leader. He was a leader in the Unification Church (UC), and was appointed to many leadhip positions in organizations related to the Unification Church by its founder Sun Myung Moon. Since 2002, he was the chairman and president of News World Communications, which owns United Press International, and other publications, including the Middle East Times , and Tiempos del Mundo, a Spanish-language newspaper published in 16 countries throughout the Americas. [1] [2] [3] He was also the president of the Family Party for the Universal Peace and Unity, a South Korean political party founded by UC members, one of whose main goals is the reunification of Korea. [4] He was also the chairman of the ″Social Responsibility Committee″ for the Asian Football Confederation. [5]

Kwak wanted The Washington Times to "support international organizations such as the United Nations and to campaign for world peace and interfaith understanding." This created difficulties for editor Wesley Pruden and some of the Times' columnists. Issues of contention included the Unification movement's reconciliatory attitude towards North Korea, which at the time included joint business ventures, and Kwak's advocacy for greater understanding between the U.S. and the Islamic world. David Ignatius, reporting for The Washington Post, predicted that conservatives in Congress and the George W. Bush administration would support Pruden's position over Kwak's. [6]

Kwak's daughter, Jun Sook Kwak, is married to Moon's son, Hyun Jin Preston Moon. [7] [8] Kwak left the UC in 2009 after internal strife and is now the Honorary President of the Global Peace Foundation, Preston Moon's controversial sect that has battled other UC offshoots led by his brother and mother for control of church assets. [9] [10]

After the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by the son of a Unification Church member, Kwak held a press conference in which he apologized and blamed other UC leaders. [11] [12]

Speeches and writings

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sun Myung Moon</span> Korean religious leader (1920–2012)

Sun Myung Moon was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unification Church, and of its widely noted "Blessing" or mass wedding ceremonies, and the author of its unique theology the Divine Principle. He was an anti-communist and an advocate for Korean reunification, for which he was recognized by the governments of both North and South Korea. Businesses he promoted included News World Communications, an international news media corporation known for its American subsidiary The Washington Times, and Tongil Group, a South Korean business group (chaebol), as well as other related organizations.

<i>The Washington Times</i> American broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C.

The Washington Times is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C.. It covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout Washington, D.C., and in parts of suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. A weekly tabloid edition aimed at a national audience is also published. The Washington Times was one of the first American broadsheets to publish its front page in full color.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unification Church</span> International new religious movement

The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church (통일교), is a new religious movement derived from Christianity, whose members are called Unificationists or informally Moonies. Sun Myung Moon (1920–2012) started amassing followers after the Second World War ended and, on 1 May 1954 in Seoul, South Korea, officially founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC), the Unification Church's full name until 1994. It has a presence in approximately 100 countries around the world. Its leaders are Moon and his wife Hak Ja Han, whom their followers honor with the title "True Parents".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hak Ja Han</span> Korean religious leader (born 1943)

Hak Ja Han is a Korean religious leader. Her late husband Sun Myung Moon was the founder of the Unification Church (UC). Han and Moon were married in April 1960 and have 10 living children and over 30 grandchildren. In 1992, she established the Women's Federation for World Peace, and traveled the world speaking on its behalf. Since her husband's death, she has assumed leadership of the Unification Church, whose followers call her "True Mother" and "Mother of Peace".

Heung Jin Moon, also referred to by members of the Unification Church (UC) as Heung Jin Nim or posthumously as Lord Heung Jin Nim, was the second son of church founders Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han. At the age of 17 he died in a vehicle accident in New York State. Three months later his parents conducted a spiritual wedding ceremony between him and Julia Pak, daughter of church leader, Bo Hi Pak. He is officially regarded by the UC to be the "king of the spirits" in heaven. After Moon's death, some church members claimed that they were channelling messages from his spirit. In 1988 a church member from Zimbabwe, named Kundioni, claimed to be the incarnation of Moon. His acts of violence against church members were a source of controversy within the church. Moon is now believed by church members to be leading workshops in the spiritual world in which spirits of deceased persons are taught UC teachings.

News World Communications Inc. is an American international news media corporation.

Since its founder's start in advocating for the Korean independence movement the Unification Church led by Sun Myung Moon has been highly politically active. The degree of involvement of the Unification Church, as well as some of its specific stances, have also been part of the reason for the movement's controversial status over the years. The belief in the establishment of a literal Kingdom of God on earth and church founder Sun Myung Moon's teaching that religion alone is not enough to bring this about provides a motivation for political involvement.

Hyung Jin Moon, also known as Sean Moon, is an American pastor and, along with his wife Yeon Ah Lee Moon, founded the Pennsylvania-based World Peace and Unification Sanctuary Church. The Sanctuary Church is a schismatic and militant sect of the Unification Church, which was founded by Hyung Jin Moon's father Reverend Sun Myung Moon and now led by his mother Hak Ja Han.

Julia H. Moon also known as Hoon Sook Moon is the General Director of Universal Ballet in South Korea, and daughter-in-law of Sun Myung Moon, founder of the ballet company. She was the prima ballerina of the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chūichi Date</span> Japanese politician

Chūichi Date is a Japanese retired politician of the Liberal Democratic Party who served three terms in the House of Councillors in the Diet and also served as the LDP's National Diet Committee Chairman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unification Church of the United States</span> Religious movement in the United States

The Unification Church of the United States is the branch of the Unification Church in the United States. It began in the late 1950s and early 1960s when missionaries from South Korea were sent to America by the international Unification Church's founder and leader Sun Myung Moon. It expanded in the 1970s and then became involved in controversy due to its theology, its political activism, and the lifestyle of its members. Since then, it has been involved in many areas of American society and has established businesses, news media, projects in education and the arts, as well as taking part in political and social activism, and has itself gone through substantial changes.

Daniel G. Fefferman is a church leader and activist for the freedom of religion. He is a member of the Unification Church of the United States, a branch of the international Unification Church, founded by Sun Myung Moon in South Korea in 1954.

<i>5th Republic</i> (TV series) South Korean TV series

5th Republic is a 2005 South Korean drama television series that aired on MBC from April 23 to September 1, 2005, on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:40 (KST) for 41 episodes. It takes place during the 1981–1988 Fifth Republic of South Korea under the dictatorship of President Chun Doo-hwan. It follows his rise to power through a military coup to his downfall after a series of democratic movements, including the Gwangju uprising and the June Democratic Uprising.

The Family Peace Association is an international peace organization. It was inaugurated on December 2, 2017, in Seoul, South Korea, where it announced its mission: "To enlighten humanity by uplifting their spiritual consciousness through universal principles and values rooted in God-centered families.". The co-founders of the Family Peace Association are Hyun Jin Moon and Junsook Moon. Jinman Kwak is its president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assassination of Shinzo Abe</span> 2022 assassination of the former Japanese prime minister

On 8 July 2022, Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan and a serving member of the Japanese House of Representatives, was assassinated while speaking at a political event outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara City, Nara Prefecture. Abe was delivering a campaign speech for a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidate when he was fatally shot by 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami with an improvised firearm. Abe was transported by a medical helicopter to Nara Medical University Hospital in Kashihara, where he was pronounced dead.

The National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales is a non-profit anti-cult association established in May 1987, comprising about 300 lawyers in Japan. It is specialized in providing legal assistance for victims of cult-related frauds, known as spiritual sales (霊感商法) in Japan, from religious organizations, primarily the Unification Church (UC), as well as advocating preventive measures against the malpractices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Kishida Cabinet (First Reshuffle)</span> Composition of the 101st Cabinet of Japan from 2022 to 2023

The Second Kishida Cabinet (First Reshuffle) was the 101st Cabinet of Japan and was formed by Fumio Kishida, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and Prime Minister of Japan in August 2022. The cabinet governed Japan from 10 August 2022 to 13 September 2023.

Shūkyō nisei (宗教2世), literally 'religion second generation', is a Japanese phrase, which refers to children being raised by their parents with strong religious beliefs. These children may be forced to practice the same religion against their will by their parents. They are also called karuto nisei or nisei shinja. These children are reportedly often challenged by hardships, such as child neglect, child abuse and lack of psychological, financial, academic and social independence because of their religious parents and the predatory practices of the religious organization. While the shūkyō nisei is a longstanding social issue in Japan, Japanese government has been accused of inaction. Within the Unification Church, children born to the parents married in church sponsored mass wedding ceremonies are called the shukufuku nisei.

Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, believed in a literal Kingdom of God on earth to be brought about by human effort, motivating his establishment of numerous groups, some that are not strictly religious in their purposes. Moon was not directly involved with managing the day-to-day activities of the organizations that he indirectly oversaw, yet all of them attribute the inspiration behind their work to his leadership and teachings.

References

  1. ↑ Dr. Chung Hwan Kwak, American City Business Journals, Accessed August 26, 2008
  2. ↑ "News World Communications". The Columbia Journalism Review. 2003-11-24. Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  3. ↑ Leadership Team United Press International
  4. ↑ Sun Myung Moon forms new political party to merge divided Koreas, Church and State, May 2003
  5. ↑ "United Nations Sport for Development and Peace – FAO". Un.org. 2011-07-29. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  6. ↑ Ignatius, David (June 18, 2004). "Tension of the Times". The Washington Post . p. A29. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Insiders say the church's new line is that with the end of the Cold War, it's important to support international organizations such as the United Nations and to campaign for world peace and interfaith understanding. That stance would be awkward for The Washington Times's hard-line editor in chief, Wesley Pruden, and its stable of neoconservative columnists.
  7. ↑ From the Unification Church to the Unification Movement, 1994-1999: Five Years of Dramatic Changes Center for Studies on New Religions "Hyun Jin Moon's blessing to Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak's (the Reverend Moon's assistant and former president of the FFWPUI) daughter, Jun Sook Kwak, was also a significant point of continuity."
  8. ↑ Tension of the Times The Washington Post June 18, 2004, "Sources say that the dominant church official overseeing the publications is now the Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak, a close adviser to the church's founder, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon."
  9. ↑ "Unification Church's founder 'was close' to Shinzo Abe's grandfather". 20 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "Dr. Chung Hwan Kwak | Global Peace Foundation".
  11. ↑ “아베 사망, 통일교 무리한 헌금 탓” 전 통일교 2인자 곽정환 주장 [“Abe died due to excessive donations to the Unification Church,” asserts Kwak Jeong-hwan, former second leader of the Unification Church] (in Korean). The Hankyoreh. 20 July 2022. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022.
  12. ↑ 旧統一教会“元No.2”が謝罪「安倍元総理の死に責任」…献金も痛烈批判「教団は堕落」 [Former Unification Church "former No. 2" apologizes "responsible for the death of former Prime Minister Abe" ... Donations are also severely criticized "the cult is corrupt"] (in Japanese). TV Asahi. 20 July 2022. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.