Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, South Korea's top shipbuilder, said Monday it will make improving safety for its workers its top priority amid a series of accidents at its workplaces.

The move was followed by its decision last week to spend an additional 300 billion won ($244 million) to beef up safety for its workers over the next three years.

The group now plans to spend a total of 1.64 trillion won during the cited period to improve safety at the facilities of its nine affiliates, including Hyundai Heavy.

In the January-May period, four workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the group's shipbuilding unit, died in safety accidents.

Kwon Oh Gap, chief executive of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co., the group's holding company, visited Hyundai Heavy's shipyard in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Monday to inspect whether the safety steps are properly in place, the group said in an emailed statement.

Last week, the labor ministry said it will put the group on its special regulatory supervision list until the group's safety system is improved. (Yonhap)