The government has ordered a halt to all operations at the Aricell lithium battery plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, after a fire there killed 23 workers.

Employment and labor ministry official Min Gil-woo, who is leading the ministry's special investigative team, announced the move Wednesday, saying the order was issued to prevent similar incidents or disasters.

On Tuesday, a team of police, firefighters, forensic experts, and other government officials began a joint inspection of the fire scene, focusing their efforts on determining the exact cause of the accident.

The joint inspection team said it plans to conduct additional investigations after analyzing all the information collected.

It plans to hold meetings at least once a week to swiftly deal with the aftermath of the accident, support bereaved families and establish measures to prevent recurrence of such fire disasters.