Severance cannot be paid as part of a worker's monthly salary before the employee leaves the company, a court ruled Thursday.

Presiding Judge Lee Young-hwa of the Daegu District Court found the owner of a rental business, whose identity was withheld, guilty of not providing the proper severance pay to his employee, and fined him 200,000 won ($170). The employee's contract was also deemed invalid.

The defendant said the work contract specified that 200,000 won would be paid monthly to the employee, in addition to his salary, to cover food costs and severance, and that he followed the contract.

"It has already been confirmed by a Supreme Court decision that a contract that provides severance as part of monthly payment is invalid," the judge said. (Yonhap)