UPDATE 1-S.Korea Feb LNG, coal imports jump yr/yr

* Feb LNG imports up 21 pct to 3.4 mln T from yr ago

* End-Feb LNG stocks down 24 pct yr/yr -calculation

* Feb coal imports up 28 pct to 8.3 mln T from yr ago

(Adds details)

SEOUL, March 15 (Reuters) - South Korea's imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) jumped 21 percent year-on-year in February, customs data showed on Monday.

South Korea, the world's second-largest LNG buyer after Japan, imported 3.4 million tonnes of LNG in February, up from 2.9 million tonnes a year earlier, according to the Korea Customs Service.

State-owned Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) (036460.KS), the world's biggest corporate buyer of LNG and South Korea's sole wholesaler, said last Friday it sold 3.13 million tonnes of LNG in February, up 26 percent from a year earlier. [ID:nSEL003019]

Thanks to the higher sales, LNG stocks held by KOGAS at the end of February dropped an estimated 24 percent to 1.9 million tonnes from a year earlier, Reuters calculations based on trade and sales data showed.

KOGAS last month said it aimed to sell about 28 million tonnes of LNG in 2010, compared with 24.6 million tonnes last year, as demand for power generation recovers along with the economy. [ID:nTOE614083]

Driven by recovering power demand, imports of coal in February jumped 28 percent from a year earlier to 8.3 million tonnes, customs data also showed on Monday. [ID:nTOE62E009]

(Reporting by Cho Mee-young; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)