TAIPEI: A former Taipei City mayor who once ran for the presidency was sentenced on Thursday (Mar 26) to 17 years in prison for taking bribes and misusing political donations.
Ko Wen-je, the founder of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), which has become a third force in Taiwanese politics, was found guilty by the Taipei District Court, where dozens of supporters had gathered ahead of the verdict.
Ko, 66, was charged in December 2024 with corruption relating to a property development when he was Taipei’s mayor.
He was also indicted for misusing donations for the TPP and a charity foundation, and breach of trust.
In addition to the combined 17-year sentence, Ko was banned from running for public office for six years, the court said.
Prosecutors had sought a combined jail term of 28 years and six months. Ko, who served two terms as Taipei mayor from 2014 to 2022, denied wrongdoing, a member of his legal team told AFP on Thursday.
The property scandal concerned a redevelopment project that saw its floor area ratio substantially increased – done with the city government’s approval which allegedly benefited the developer.
Ko received more than NT$17 million (US$532,000) in bribes and was involved in the embezzlement of more than NT$68 million of political donations made to the TPP and a company linked to the party.
He also misused around NT$8.27 million in donations for a social welfare foundation for his presidential campaign.
Ko stood down as chairman of the TPP in January 2025, several months after he was detained, and was replaced by Huang Kuo-chang, who previously described the charges against the party’s founder as “politically motivated”.
Ko was released on NT$70 million bail in September.
Ahead of the verdict, supporter Kenny Yang said Ko was “falsely accused” and a victim of “political persecution”.
“Regardless of the outcome, we will continue to support him and help him seek justice – that’s certain,” Yang, a 52-year-old IT worker, told AFP outside the court.
“We cannot allow Taiwan to become a society without a sense of right and wrong, without justice.”