The head of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said the large severance received by the son of independent lawmaker Kwak Sang-do from Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management was inappropriate.

Commissioner Kim Won-joon made the remark on Monday during an audit of the police agency by the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee. 

He was responding to a question from ruling Democratic Party(DP) lawmaker Lee Hae-sik about whether the commissioner thought the five-billion-won severance was appropriate.

However, the commissioner stopped short of making any more remarks on the matter, saying prosecutors and police looking into the matter will hold related discussions on Tuesday. 

The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency launched its probe into Kwak’s son following a complaint filed by a civic group, which argued that the money must have been given as a bribe for the lawmaker given its enormous amount.

The lawmaker’s son joined Hwacheon Daeyu, which is at the center of the Seongnam land development scandal, in June 2015 and left this March with a handsome payment of two-point-eight billion won after taxes, which included consolation, performance and severance pay.

The son explained he was unable to work any longer due to health reasons. The company acknowledged that excessive workload played a role in his poor health, for which he was compensated.