Taiwan Presidential Candidate ko indicted
(Bloomberg) — Ko Wen-je, a former Taiwanese presidential candidate, has been indicted on corruption charges tied to multiple scandals, including a property redevelopment project during his tenure as Taipei mayor.
The Taipei District Prosecutors Office proposed a sentence exceeding 28 years for bribery and misappropriation of political donations, a spokesperson said at a briefing on Thursday. They also want Ko fined NT$50 million ($1.5 million).
Taiwan Presidential Candidate has denied wrongdoing and said he wasn’t involved in the decision to grant Core Pacific Group additional floor area in the redevelopment project. The conglomerate’s chairman, Sheen Ching-jing, who denies wrongdoing, is also facing prosecution and, potentially, 17 years in prison.
The Taiwan People’s Party — which Ko co-founded in 2019 — denounced the indictment in a press briefing on Thursday.
“Today, Taiwan is experiencing judicial injustice, with politics and state machinery being used to persecute political opponents,” TPP’s spokesperson Chen Chih-han said. The indictment “lacks financial evidence and concrete proof, relying solely on pieced-together claims to destroy political adversaries.”
The party and its larger ally, the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang, hold a joint majority in the legislature. They have pushed through several legal changes that DPP supporters say are meant to hinder President Lai Ching-te’s ability to govern the island, one of the critical flashpoints in US-China relations.
Ko’s case marks the latest in a series of corruption indictments against politicians. In August, former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan of Lai’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party was charged for alleged graft.
Taiwan Presidential Candidate, Ko finished third in the 2024 presidential election with about 27% of the vote, behind Lai and KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih. Ko this month announced he is resigning as TPP leader.
–With assistance from Cindy Wang.
(Adds indictment of company chairman in third paragraph and TPP comment from fourth.)
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