Moon, the son and a battle that may be far from heavenly

Moon, a charismatic and controversial figure, founded the church in South Korea in 1954.

He and his wife, Hak Ja Han, have ten surviving children and, in recent years, Moon had been handing power over the church’s religious, charitable and business entities to them.

But there have been reports of family rifts. One son sued his mother’s missionary group in 2011, demanding the return of more than $22 million (£14m) he claimed had been sent without his consent from a company he runs to her charity. The group eventually returned the money after court mediation.

Moon’s death could expose further rifts within the church, according to Kim Heung-soo, who teaches the history of Christianity at Mokwon University in Daejeon, South Korea. “There is a high possibility that internal discord will deepen,” he said.

The church has amassed dozens of businesses across the world – even in North Korea – including hotels, a ski resort, sports teams, schools, universities and hospitals.

There has been tragedy in the family. One son killed himself in 1999, jumping from the 17th floor of a Nevada hotel. Two other sons reportedly also died early, one in a train crash and the other in a car accident.

Key to the future is the Rev Hyung-jin Moon, 33, the American-born son who was lined up several years ago to succeed his father as head of the church.

Known as “Sean” back at Harvard University, where he studied, he is more fluent in English than Korean and has signs of his father’s charisma. His sermons, delivered in English, are designed to appeal to the next generation of “Unificationists,” the name followers prefer over “Moonies”.

He said in 2009 that he had questioned Christianity when he was younger. But his father stood by him and asked followers not to criticise him when he turned to Buddhism briefly after his brother’s death in Nevada.

An older brother, Kook-jin Moon, 42, also known as Justin, runs the Tongil Group, the church’s business arm.

The church has amassed dozens of business ventures over the years, including the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan and the Yongpyong ski resort in South Korea. Moon founded the Washington Times newspaper in 1982. The church also owns a professional football team, schools and hospitals and operates the Potonggang Hotel in Pyongyang and jointly operates the Pyeonghwa Motors car manufacturer in North Korea.

Sun Myung Moon, who was born in a rural part of what is now North Korea, founded the movement after migrating south during the Korean War.

The church’s doctrine is a mixture of Christian, Confucian and traditional Korean values, emphasising the importance of the family unit but also encouraging multicultural unions.