Lee awards decorations, prizes to Yonhap News, others for roles in G-20

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with awards ceremony; ADDS photo)
SEOUL, June 20 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak awarded state decorations and prizes to Yonhap News Agency and other organizations and individuals Monday for their roles in making last year's summit of the Group of 20 major economies a success, officials said.
Yonhap News and more than 300 people and organizations were awarded citations, officials said. Yonhap covered the summit as the host news agency. Yonhap President and CEO Park Jung-chan attended the prize ceremony.
The other organizations that received recognition included state broadcaster KBS, along with the National Intelligence Service, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the military's Capital Defense Command, which provided elaborate security arrangements for the summit that drew U.S. President Barack Obama and other high-profile world leaders.
State decorations were awarded to 35 officials and private experts who were involved in organizing the G-20 summit, including Shin Je-yoon, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, Ambassador to the European Union Ahn Ho-young and Princeton University professor Shin Hyun-song, officials said.
Lee hosted a dinner for the prize recipients.