Bo Hi Pak
Hangul
박보희
Hanja
朴普熙
Revised RomanizationBak Bohui
McCune–ReischauerPak Pohŭi

Bo Hi Pak (August 18, 1930 – January 12, 2019 in Korea. Korean: 박보희/朴普熙) was a prominent member of the Unification Church. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a major leader in the church movement, leading projects such as newspapers (notably The Washington Times), schools, performing arts projects, political projects such as the anti-communist organization CAUSA International, and was president of the Unification Church International 1977–1991.[1] He was also the president of Little Angels Children's Folk Ballet of Korea.[2]

Life

Pak was a lieutenant colonel in the South Korean military when he joined the Unification Church in the 1950s. Serving church founder Sun Myung Moon as his main English interpreter during speaking tours in the United States, he was referred to in the media as Moon's "right-hand man"[3] (or similarly), such as "Moon's top deputy".[4]

He was the central figure in Moon's publishing businesses, including founding President and Publisher, The News World (later renamed New York City Tribune); founding President and Chairman of the Board, the Washington Times Corporation; and President, World Media Association.[1]

In 1976 Pak incorporated True World Foods which became the largest sushi supplier in America.[5]

In 1977/1978, Pak testified before the Fraser Committee in its investigation of the Unification Church, commenting: "I am a proud Korean – a proud Moonie – and a dedicated anti-Communist and I intend to remain so the rest of my life."[6] In response to the adversarial investigation, Pak wrote Truth is My Sword. Alexander Haig commented in the introduction: "From the battlefield of the Korean peninsula to the halls of the U.S. Congress, Dr. Pak's speeches mirror the convictions of an individual whose ardent sense of justice has always been the cornerstone of his advocacy of personal freedom and democracy."[7]

In 1984 Pak was kidnapped in New York City and held for ransom. The FBI arrested the kidnappers, who claimed that the crime was an attempt to change Unification Church policy.[8]

In 1987 at a church gathering, a Zimbabwean Unification Church member who was thought by Moon to be the continuous "channel" on earth for his deceased son Heung Jin Moon, "beat Bo Hi Pak so badly that he was hospitalized for a week in Georgetown Hospital."[9] The Washington Post reported that "Later, Pak underwent surgery in South Korea to repair a blood vessel in his skull, according to Times executives."[10]

In 1994, Pak visited North Korea to attend the funeral of President Kim Il Sung, risking legal trouble by the South Korean government in doing so. In 1998 he visited again, leading a trade delegation representing Unification Church interests with the blessing of the South Korean government.[11]

On July 20, 2004 the Eastern Seoul District Prosecutor imprisoned Pak and charged him with financial fraud because he was unable to repay his debts to Korean businessmen.[12] In 2006, Pak was released on probation after serving 2 years and 3 ½ months. On November 6, 2006, he sent a letter to be distributed by Unification Church publications worldwide to give an account of his experiences in prison. In the letter he wrote:

Being able to live to the age of 76 was already a great blessing, but in my physical condition, I could not conceive how I would be able to serve time in prison until I became 81. I thought of John the Baptist 2000 years ago. He came with the mission to bear witness about Jesus but ended up dying in prison. I, Bo Hi, have lived with the conviction that I was born with the mission of John the Baptist for the time of the Second Advent. If it was my mission and destiny to die in prison in order to indemnify the failure of the first John the Baptist, then I was resolutely determined to solemnly receive my fate.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Appendix B: Brief Chronology of the Life of Dr. Bo Hi Pak, in Messiah: My Testimony to Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Vol I by Bo Hi Pak (2000), Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
    • 1973 Principal, the Little Angels Arts School, Seoul, Korea.
    • 1974 Principal evangelist and director general of the Sun Myung Moon Christian Crusade.
    • 1976-1988 Chairman, Sun-Hwa Educational Foundation, Seoul, Korea.
    • 1976-1990 President and publisher, the News World daily newspaper in New York City (later renamed New York City Tribune).
    • 1977-1991 President, Unification Church International.
    • 1977-Present Member of the Board, Unification Church International.
    • 1978-1995 President, World Media Association.
    • 1980-1992 President and Publisher. Noticias Del Muudo, New York Spanish-language daily newspaper.
    • 1981-Present President, CAUSA International.
    • 1982-1992 President, the Washington Times Corporation. (The Washington Times daily newspaper and Insight on the News weekly magazine, and World & I monthly academic journal
    • 1982-1997 Chairman of the Board, the Washington Times Corporation.
    • 1983-1997 Chairman, Association for the Unity of Latin America.
    • 1986-Present President, Universal Ballet Foundation, corporate sponsors of the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C.
    • 1987-1997 President, Summit Council for World Peace.
    • 1990-Present Chairman of the hoard and chief executive officer, Panda Motors Corporation in the United States, Hong Kong, and China.
    • 1991-1994 President and publisher, Seyge Ilbo daily newspaper, Seoul, Korea.
  2. ↑ Korean War vets thanked by Little Angels in Norfolk, Virginian-Pilot, June 8, 2010
  3. ↑ "Moon and his ballet stars", by Robert Black, The Telegraph, October 26, 2000.
  4. ↑ "Church Spends Millions On Its Image" by Michael Isikoff, The Washington Post, September 17, 1984; Page A01.
  5. ↑ Moore, Elizabeth Armstrong. "Holy Mackerel!". wweek.com. Willamette Week. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  6. ↑ Inquisition: The Persecution and Prosecution of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, by Carlton Sherwood, 1991, Regnery Gateway, page 558, ISBN 978-0-89526-532-6
  7. ↑ Introduction, Truth Is My Sword Volume I: Collected Speeches in the Public Arena by Bo Hi Pak
  8. ↑ Crime: Kidnaping of a Moonie, Time, December 10, 1984
  9. ↑ Hong, Nansook. (1998). In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family. Little, Brown. (ISBN 0-316-34816-3)
  10. ↑ Theological Uproar in Unification Church; Rev. Moon Recognizes Zimbabwean as His Reincarnated Son Archived 2011-01-20 at the Wayback Machine, by Michael Isikoff, Washington Post staff writer, The Washington Post, 30 March 1988. Accessed Saturday, August 19, 2006.
  11. ↑ Reverend Moon's Group Wants to Talk Investment: Seoul Nods At Church's Foray North Kirk, Don International Herald Tribune 1999-06-02]
  12. ↑ case background Archived December 15, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ "Letter from Prison"
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