17 Feb 2013

First Moonie mass wedding since founder's death

9:42 pm on 17 February 2013

Thousands of people have been married in South Korea in the first mass wedding organised by the Unification Church since the death of its founder.

Some 3500 identically-dressed couples took part in the ceremony in Gapyeong, north-east of the capital, Seoul.

The BBC reports that a further 24,000 followers - often known as "Moonies" - were also married in other countries via video link.

The ceremony was presided over by Hak Ja-han, the widow of Sun Myung Moon, who died in September.

An estimated 30,000 people attended the 92-year-old's funeral.

Four hundred of the Church's members who were married on Sunday chose to have their partners selected for them by Mrs Hak, something her late husband also did.

The mass weddings began in the early 1960s and over the years grew in size. In 1997, some 30,000 couples were married in Washington.

The Church has been accused of brainwashing its followers and embezzlement.