Taipei: The Taipei District Court on Monday began hearing oral arguments in high-profile cases against former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, who is accused of accepting bribes in a property development deal and misappropriating political donations.

According to Focus Taiwan, prosecutors stated that Ko knowingly intervened in the Core Pacific City development project dispute during his tenure as Taipei mayor, despite repeated warnings from city officials to resolve it through legal channels. They accused Core Pacific Group Chairman Sheen Ching-jing of repeatedly lobbying the Taipei City government between 2010 and 2018 with little success, but noted that after 2020, Ko approved almost all of Sheen’s requests. These approvals included changes to the development project’s detailed plans and floor area ratio (FAR).

Prosecutors alleged that Ko was aware of the large financial stakes involved and that he and Sheen coordinated their actions to secure unlawful benefits. Ko, speaking briefly to reporters outside the court,
rejected the allegations, calling them politically motivated. He emphasized that courts should focus on facts and evidence rather than conjecture.

Ko, the founder and former chair of the opposition Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), was among 11 individuals indicted in December 2024 in a corruption case in which Sheen is alleged to have bribed Ko in exchange for favorable treatment during Ko’s tenure as mayor. The investigation into the project began amid suspicion concerning the sharp increase in the floor area ratio-from 560 percent to 840 percent.

Ko faces a potential sentence of 28.5 years for allegedly accepting bribes totaling NT$17.1 million in the property development deal and for embezzling political donations during his 2024 presidential campaign as leader of the TPP. Monday’s oral arguments centered on the prosecutors’ indictment of the former Taipei mayor. On Tuesday, Ko and his lawyer are expected to present their defense, with Ko maintaining his innocence and asserting that the corruption charges ag
ainst him are politically motivated.