Sun Myung Moon

Gapyeong (South Korea), Sept. 3 (Reuters): Sun Myung Moon, a self-declared messiah who founded the controversial Unification Church which has millions of followers around the globe, died today leaving a vast business empire and a legacy of mass weddings.

Church officials said Moon, 92, who had suffered complications from pneumonia, was taken to hospital in Seoul in mid-August and was moved to a hospital in a rural retreat last week when his family believed there was little chance of recovery. His body was lying in a vast building resembling the White House.