Crash effect on World Cup worries Kim

Emergency efforts are shifting from searching for survivors to locating victims' bodies

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korean President Kim Dae-jung has told his cabinet he is worried that the crash of an Air China jet near the city of Busan may affect attendance at the World Cup soccer finals.

"I am concerned that this accident could have an impact on the World Cup," Yonhap news agency quoted Kim as saying on Tuesday, urging a careful follow-up to the crash.

"The Construction and Transportation Ministry must make efforts to dispel such worries."

Monday's plane crash in southeastern South Korea comes just six weeks before soccer's World Cup finals are to be co-hosted by South Korea and Japan.

The Boeing 767 ploughed into a foggy mountainside near Busan, one of 10 South Korean World Cup venues and host of the Asian Games later this year.

The crash killed nearly 119 people, but 38 people, including the Chinese captain, managed to survive.

Full checks

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Kim's concerns come after the South Korean cabinet ordered full checks of all transport.

Checks on air, land and sea transport safety, as well as medical centers have been ordered so the "World Cup and other imminent international events can be carried out without a hitch," a government statement said.

The cabinet also ordered a complete fact-finding investigation into the crash, exhaustive search and rescue work and close cooperation with China in handling the crash.

Tens of thousands of fans from around the world are set to visit South Korea and Japan during the finals, scheduled for May 31 to June 30, almost all of whom will arrive by air.

More than 60,000 Chinese are expected to be among tens of thousands of soccer fans from around the world who visit the two countries -- the first to co-host the finals.