Sun Myung Moon (; born Yong Myung Moon; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) 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 movement (members of which consider him and his wife Hak Ja Han to be their "True Parents"), 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. Moon was born in what is now North Korea. When he was a child, his family converted to Christianity. In 1947, he was convicted by the North Korean government of spying for South Korea and given a five-year sentence to the Hŭngnam labour camp. Moon and the other prisoners were freed by United Nations and United States troops in 1950 during the Korean War. In 1954, he founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity in Seoul, South Korea, based on conservative, family-oriented teachings from new interpretations of the Bible. In 1971, he moved to the United States and became well known after giving a series of public speeches on his beliefs. In the 1982 case United States v. Sun Myung Moon, he was found guilty of willfully filing false federal income tax returns and sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. His case generated protests from clergy and civil libertarians, who said that the trial was biased against him. Moon was criticized for making high demands of his followers, who were very dedicated and often referred to in popular parlance as "Moonies". His wedding ceremonies also drew criticism, especially after members of other churches took part, including the excommunicated Roman Catholic archbishop Emmanuel Milingo. He was also criticized for his relationships with political and religious figures, including US presidents Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, North Korean president Kim Il-sung, and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Early life Sun Myung Moon was born Yong Myung Moon on 6 January