President Lee Jae Myung has called for special measures to end workplace fatalities after a pipeline worker passed away inside a manhole due to suspected asphyxiation from toxic gases.

At a press briefing on Monday, Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Relations Lee Kyu-youn said the president has called for a thorough investigation into a possible violation of the of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

The president also urged officials take stern measures against those found responsible.

The presidential aide said Lee strongly ordered to modify safety management at industrial sites to prevent accidents and to bolster advance supervision.

An employee of a pipeline inspection and management company in his 50s was found dead Monday morning after he went missing on Sunday while inspecting a wastewater pipeline inside a manhole in Incheon.

The head of the company, who is in his 40s and was rescued earlier without vital signs, still remains unconscious as authorities suspect both people had suffered toxic gas poisoning.