Heo Young-in, CEO of South Korean bakery giant SPC Group, bowed deep in apology Friday over a young factory worker killed in an accident at one of the company's bread-making factories last week.

“I feel strongly responsible for this accident and accept criticism from the public without any excuses. I also send my deepest apology for not caring for the grief and shock of the employees who worked with the deceased,” Heo said during a press conference.

As part of prevention measures, Heo pledged an additional 100 billion won ($69.6 million) to upgrade safety management systems at the company's worksites overall.

In the day, SPC also launched safety inspections into its flagship Paris Baguette-affiliated factory, located in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and other production sites across the nation under supervision of government-certified outside experts.

The company will set up a separate safety management committee consisting of outside experts and factory workers as well as adding more safety management-related staff.

The company also said it planned to offer counseling programs to help mental health recovery of colleagues of the deceased factory worker.

“Following a painstaking effort, I will try my best to make our company trustworthy again based on respect and care for each other,” Heo said.