Former Taipei University major Ko Wen-ji has been indicted in connection with a real estate development and campaign finance scandal.
Taiwan’s former presidential candidate, Ko Wen-ji, has been indicted on charges of bribery and misappropriation of political donations.
Mr. Ke was indicted by prosecutors on Thursday following an investigation into corruption charges in the redevelopment of a shopping center in Taipei during his time as Taiwan’s mayor, and allegations of campaign finance fraud in the 2024 presidential election.
The Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that Ke, who is accused of accepting NT$17.1 million ($522,392) in bribes and embezzling more than NT$68 million in donations, was sentenced to 28 and a half years in prison. It was announced that
Prosecutors also announced charges against several members of Ke’s Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) for allegedly misusing political donations.
Mr. Ke, who served as Taipei’s mayor from 2014 to 2022, denied any wrongdoing in the real estate development case after his arrest in August, but admitted to reporting fraudulent campaign funds.
A Taipei court ruled the following month that Mr. Ke, a trained surgeon, should be released from custody because he did not meet prosecutors’ criteria for a “high probability” that he had committed a crime.
Ko, who came in third place in January’s presidential election with about 27% of the vote, was widely seen as a strong candidate for the 2028 presidential election.
The TPP, co-founded by Ke in 2019, holds eight seats in the 113-member Legislative Yuan.
The party has been working with the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang to pass a series of controversial legal reforms, but the ruling Democratic Progressive Party says the changes will affect President William Lai’s rule over the island. They claim that the purpose is to limit their abilities.
