The government will push for mandatory occupational safety training for foreign workers in the wake of a deadly lithium battery factory fire in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province in June.

Labor minister Lee Jung-sik announced the decision on Tuesday in a bid to prevent a recurrence of the fire that killed 23 workers and injured eight others. 

The government estimates that nearly 79 percent of some 923-thousand foreign workers in the nation work at small workplaces with employees of 50 or less where it is difficult to establish standard safety management procedures. 

While basic safety training is provided for foreign workers on E-9 and H-2 visas, governed by the Employment Permit System, such training is rarely provided to foreigners working in the nation on F-type visas. Of the 18 foreign workers who died in the factory fire, 12 had held F-4 overseas Korean visas.

The government also said it will provide up to 100 million won to make workplaces safer.