Ko Wen-je, former mayor of Taipei, Taiwan, and a former presidential candidate, was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Thursday for bribery and misusing political donation funds.
On 26 Mar 2026 GMT+7, Ko Wen-je, founder of the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) and a rising third political force in Taiwan, was convicted by the Taipei District Court for bribery and misuse of political donations, with many supporters gathering outside the courthouse.
The 66-year-old Ko was charged with corruption in December 2024 related to real estate development projects during his tenure as Taipei mayor.
He was also prosecuted for misusing donations from the TPP and a charitable foundation, including breach of trust charges.
The court stated that in addition to a total prison sentence of 17 years, Ko was banned from running for political office for six years.
Originally, prosecutors sought a combined sentence of 28 years and 6 months. Ko, who served two terms as Taipei mayor from 2014 to 2022, has consistently denied wrongdoing.
The real estate scandal involved a new development project that significantly increased the allowable floor area ratio, approved by the Taipei government under Ko's administration, benefiting the project developers.
Ko received bribes exceeding 17 million New Taiwan dollars (about 17.5 million baht) and was involved in embezzling over 68 million New Taiwan dollars (about 70 million baht) in political donations given to the TPP and related companies.
Additionally, he misused approximately 8.27 million New Taiwan dollars (about 8.5 million baht) in donations from a social welfare foundation to fund his presidential campaign.
Ko stepped down as TPP chairman in January 2025, a few months after his detention, with Huang Kuo-chang taking over the role.
Ko was released on bail of 70 million New Taiwan dollars (about 72 million baht) in September last year.
Follow international news:https://www.thairath.co.th/news/foreign
Source:cna