The Taiwan People’s Party said its chairman is innocent, calling the indictment ‘political persecution.’
TAIPEI, Taiwan—Local prosecutors have indicted a former Taiwanese presidential candidate on corruption charges, alleging that he accepted bribes related to a property developer and embezzled political donations.
Ko Wen-je, 65, was Taipei’s mayor from 2014 to 2022. Before his second mayoral term ended, he founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). In January, Ko finished third in Taiwan’s presidential election as a TPP candidate, picking up about 26 percent of the votes. Despite losing the election, Ko is widely expected by Taiwanese media to run for president again in the next election in 2028.
On Dec. 26, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office announced an indictment against Ko, seeking a combined jail sentence of 28 1/2 years for his alleged crimes during his tenure as mayor.
Ten other individuals were also indicted, including former Taipei Deputy Mayor Pong Cheng-sheng, Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei, and Sheen Ching-jing, chairman of real estate conglomerate Core Pacific Group.
Prosecutors said Ko allegedly helped the conglomerate evade city-building regulations for a redevelopment project in exchange for NT$17.1 million (about $522,200).
“The defendant, Ko, violated his pledge as a mayor to not accept bribes and abide by our national laws. Instead, Ko intended to help the group obtain billions of dollars in illegal benefits while collecting millions in bribes,” Kao Yi-shu, the lead prosecutor, said while announcing the charges on Thursday.
Ko, who previously denied wrongdoing in the real estate case, was arrested in September and held in custody.
Ko and several other TPP members were also charged for allegedly embezzling political donations of more than NT$68 million (about $2 million) during the presidential campaign.
In August, Ko apologized to supporters and said he would temporarily step down as TPP’s chairman amid scandals involving misreported campaign funds during his presidential bid.
Prosecutors found evidence, including torn-up notes from Ko’s office, containing instructions for his accomplices to leave Taiwan.
The 28 1/2-year sentence the prosecutors are seeking for Ko includes 15 years for bribery, 11 years for two separate cases of embezzlement, and 2 1/2 years for breach of public trust.
The TPP issued a statement on its Facebook page on Thursday night, calling the cases against Ko “political persecution.” The party questioned the evidence presented by prosecutors and said it believed Ko was innocent.
“None of the political donations legally accepted by the Taiwan People’s Party went into Ko Wen-je’s pocket, yet it was framed as accepting bribes,” the TPP said.
The TPP has eight seats in Taiwan’s 113-seat parliament and has played an outside role, given that neither the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nor the Kuomintang (KMT) has a majority following the January elections.
TPP has allied with the KMT in the parliament. Last week, the two parties passed three laws that critics say have paralyzed Taiwan’s constitutional court and will make it more difficult for Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te to implement his political agenda.
The Chinese Communist Party claims Taiwan to be a part of its territory and considers Lai a “separatist.”
Lai has been outspoken about Taiwan’s sovereignty. During his inauguration speech, Lai said communist China and democratic Taiwan “are not subordinate to each other.”
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.