The government ordered Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., one of South Korea's big three shipbuilders, Wednesday to stop work on five of its ships under construction, following a series of accidents at its shipyards, officials said.

The measure will immediately take effect and hold true until work safety is guaranteed on the ship that caught on fire Tuesday and four others of the same kind, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said.

On Tuesday, a fire broke out inside a gas tanker being built in a shipyard on Geoje Island, South Gyeongsang Province, about 406 kilometers south of Seoul. One worker was killed and seven others were injured.

In August, similar incident took place at Okpo Shipyard, which claimed two lives and injured seven. The ministry sent the relevant managers to prosecutors over violation of Occupational Safety and Health Act.

The ministry also ordered eight days of work stoppage period at that time, but the punishment will be aggravated this time as similar incidents took place in a row, the officials added.

Daewoo Shipbuilding Co. held a countermeasure committee Wednesday and plans to strengthen safety education for its workers, company officials said. (Yonhap)