Seoul: POSCO Group said Wednesday it will establish a group-wide special safety task force to strengthen safety management across operations following a string of fatal industrial accidents at its sites.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the task force will be launched Friday and will report directly to Chairman Chang In-hwa. It will be responsible for conducting a comprehensive review of safety management and practices across the group's steel, energy materials, and infrastructure operations.

On Monday, a worker in his 60s was killed after becoming trapped in a drilling machine at a highway construction site in Uiryeong, South Gyeongsang Province, overseen by POSCO E and C Co. It marked the fourth fatal accident at POSCO E and C sites this year.

President Lee Jae Myung addressed the accidents during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, stating that fatal workplace accidents can be seen as "murder through willful negligence," while ordering Cabinet members to come up with ways to prevent industrial accidents.