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Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 10, 1999; Page A1
With parts of its sprawling business empire in decline, the Unification Church headed by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon is finding profits in one of the least-known of its commercial ventures: making guns.
Moon's four-year-old gun company, Kahr Arms, has prospered amid glowing reviews for the workmanship of its small but potent pistols. Last month, Kahr Arms expanded, purchasing the company that manufactures Tommy guns, fabled in Roaring '20s mob shootouts from speeding black sedans.
The ties between Kahr Arms and the Unification Church headed by Moon have received almost no notice, both within the close-knit gun industry and among church members. The business arm of the church, whose members believe that Moon is the Messiah and was placed on earth to restore the Garden of Eden, declined to clarify its involvement in the gun business.
One ex-member said that for years church leaders have tried to obscure the movement's involvement with Kahr Arms. "They were afraid if anti-cult groups found out, they'd have a field day," the former member said.
But an examination of corporate records and interviews with experts on the secretive Moon empire demonstrate the links between the church's business network and Kahr Arms. Kahr, whose factory is in Worcester, Mass., is controlled by Kook Jin "Justin" Moon, 28, the elder Moon's fourth son and slated to be second-in-command of the multibillion-dollar Moon empire when the 79-year-old father dies. Justin Moon and his siblings are revered by church members as the Messiah's "True Children."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/march99/moon10.htm
Justin Moon has many times stated that his business has nothing to do with his father's church.
Asked about the tie between the gun firm and the church enterprises, One Up Enterprises Inc., the holding company over many of the church's businesses, said in a statement that it "is not involved with the operations of Saeilo Inc." Asked to elaborate, One Up said it "does not release financial information to the public." Saeilo Inc. said its gun venture is profitable.
An examination of the Saeilo firms' data filed with federal agencies, the telephone company and business reporting firms leaves no doubt that Saeilo Inc. is connected to the rest of the Moon empire.
The church's One Up has long acknowledged that Saeilo Machinery (USA) Inc., a machine tool firm, is an outright subsidiary of One Up. In statements to Dun & Bradstreet and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Saeilo Inc. and Saeilo Machinery describe themselves as "affiliates." The two firms' headquarters share a telephone number at the same address in Blauvelt, N.Y.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/march99/moon10.htm