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mass marriage in Seoul, a number of UC officials who were in Korea for the
festivities--including Neil Salonen and Dan Fefferman--were received by Prime
Minister Kim Jong Pil. He discussed with them "the need for ideological
education to enlighten people about the dangers of Communism" and noted that
he was "aware of the work the Unification Church is doing in the United States
and all over the world." The contacts with Chung I1 Kwon and Kim Jong Pil were
duly recorded in a Moon Organization publication. (525)
Moon Organization and the South Korean defense industry
The expansion of Moon Organization businesses in Korea must be viewed in
the context of the general development of Korea's economy and in particular its
defense industry. (526) The subcommittee learned that the Moon Organization
could not have prospered as it did in Korea without close cooperation and
assistance from the Korean Government. U.S. executive branch agencies
reported that Moon industries received assistance from the Korean Government,
which favored Moon's businesses for several reasons.
One was their ability to get financing from the UC. In light of that, it was ironic
that in 1977, when the Korean Government accused a number of Il Hwa
executives with tax evasion, the charges stemmed from Il Hwa's alleged
understating of assets and use of the company to fund UC activities. (527)
As
has been shown, in the Moon Organization assets are freely transferred between
businesses and nonprofit enterprises. The ROK Government's cancellation of
Little Angels tours and its prosecution of Il Hwa's officials were indirect
demonstrations of its power to make or break Moon Organization enterprises.
Significantly, both actions occurred after
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Moon's link to the Korean Government had become a public issue in the U.S.
Congress and elsewhere.
In the area of defense contracting, Moon's relationship with the Korean
Government remained close, although its exact nature was shrouded in secrecy.
The State Department reports (528) showed that Tong Il Industries was
designated as a defense contractor by the ROK Government and as of mid-1976
was involved in the manufacture of the Vulcan gun (an antiaircraft weapon); air
guns, which were used by Korean school children for military training; and the M-
79 grenade launcher, designed to be used in conjunction with the M-16 rifle, the
basic infantry weapon of the Korean Army.
There were a number of press reports linking Tong Il to the production of the
M-16. These reports were repeated by persons interviewed in the course of the
investigation, most of whom, however, had no direct knowledge. As described
elsewhere, (529) the coproduction agreement under which South Korea received
the right to produce M-16's designated the Government alone as the sole pro-
ducer of all components of the weapon.
The subcommittee attempted to obtain definitive information from appropriate
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