Yonhap News Summary 2

The following is the second summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday.

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S. Korea to extend record aid for quake-hit Japan: officials
SEOUL -- The South Korean government's donation, including emergency supplies, for quake-devastated Japan is expected to exceed US$12.5 million, an all-time high in its foreign aid history, officials at Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
The largest-ever foreign aid planned for Japan comes as the world's third-largest economy is trying to recover from last week's devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands, as well as a looming radiation crisis.

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Watchdog puts off decision on Hana's KEB takeover
SEOUL -- South Korea's financial watchdog decided Wednesday to delay its deliberation on the approval of Hana Financial Group Inc.'s takeover of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) following a recent court conviction of an executive at KEB's largest shareholder.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said Hana Financial's request for regulatory approval for putting KEB under its wing was not on the agenda for its regular meeting and that decision will be delayed for an unspecified time.

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Prosecutors widen probe into suspended savings banks nationwide
GWANGJU/CHUNCHEON -- Prosecutors raided two more suspended savings banks on Wednesday over alleged illegal lending, officials said, as part of their widening investigations on local financial institutions reeling from massive bad loans.
Earlier Wednesday, the local prosecutors' office raided the office of Domin Mutual Savings & Finance Co., based in Chuncheon, 85 kilometers west of Seoul, whose operations were halted by the financial regulator in mid-February. A liquidity crisis was unfolding at the time, caused by a run on the bank, the Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office said.

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(LEAD) Seoul mulls Boeing's help in presidential jet probe
SEOUL -- South Korea plans to ask the U.S. aerospace giant Boeing to participate in its ongoing probe into a maintenance problem that caused the country's presidential jet to make a recent emergency landing, officials said Wednesday.
Concerns over the safety of the presidential jet, a Boeing 747-400 leased from Korean Air, have grown since it was forced to fly back due to a continued noise in its front part en route to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last Saturday. On board were President Lee Myung-bak, First Lady Kim Yoon-ok, his entourage and dozens of reporters. It was the first time that a plane carrying South Korea's president made an emergency landing.

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(LEAD) Lee orders close safety checks on S. Korea's nuclear facilities
SEOUL -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak instructed his government Wednesday to painstakingly check the safety of local nuclear reactors, a move aimed at easing public anxiety here amid news of Japan's nuclear crisis, Lee's office Cheong Wa Dae said.
The Prime Minister's Office will also conduct an inter-agency review of South Korea's preparedness for natural disasters in late March, looking into earthquake-proof conditions of public buildings, early warning systems and overall contingency plans, it added.

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Ordinary S. Koreans donate nearly 240 million won to help quake-hit Japan
SEOUL -- Ordinary South Koreans donated nearly 240 million won (US$212,000) for quake-stricken Japan as part of the nationwide donation campaign to help their neighbor, Seoul's leading charity group said Wednesday.
More than 48,000 South Koreans contributed to a campaign launched days after the massive earthquake and tsunami have left thousands of people dead and missing in Japan, said the Community Chest Korea.

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Korean Peninsula moves up to 5 cm east due to Japan quake
SEOUL -- The Korean Peninsula has moved a maximum of 5 centimeters to the east due to the massive quake that rocked Japan last week, a state-run astronomical institute said Wednesday.
The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) said that based on detailed global positioning system (GPS) data, the peninsula moved between 1 cm to 5 cm depending on the location, with Ulleung Island and nearby Dokdo islets in the East Sea being most affected.

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PyeongChang scores highest in IOC survey on public support: report
SEOUL -- PyeongChang, a South Korean alpine town bidding for the 2018 Winter Olympics, topped its rivals in a public opinion poll by the International Olympic Committee, a report said Wednesday.
Citing anonymous sources, Around the Rings (www.aroundtherings.com), a U.S. Web site specializing in Olympic news, said PyeongChang led with 93 percent public support in a survey done in December last year. The figure is an increase of 3 percentage points from an IOC survey in early 2010.
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