Former Taipei mayor's wife posts income to rebut alleged corruption

Taipei, Nov. 10 (CNA) The wife of former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has released the couple's annual income since 2015 to rebut bribe-taking allegations facing Ko, who has been detained since early September.

In a Facebook post Sunday, retired pediatrician Chen Pei-chi (陳佩琪) listed her and her husband's combined annual income between 2015 and 2023 based on their income tax filings, after writing a day earlier that she was questioned by prosecutors on Nov. 7.

The figures she posted on Sunday for the nine years mostly ranged between NT$6 million (US$185,862.25) and NT$8 million, except for NT$9,097,749 in 2022 and NT$5,423,236 in 2023.

Ko took office as Taipei mayor on Dec. 25, 2014 and served two four-year terms. The physician-turned-politician founded the Taiwan People's Party in 2019 and unsuccessfully ran for president in the 2024 elections in January.

The former Taipei mayor was detained and held incommunicado on Sept. 5 after the couple was questioned by prosecutors for alleged corruption regarding the Core Pacific Group's development project during his time in office.

On Nov. 1, the Taipei District Court granted a motion by prosecutors to extend his detention for another two months.

In her Facebook post, Chen shared a wedding photo, a document said to cover Ko's expenditures as mayor, and remarks she said she made when she was questioned on Nov. 7.

"Describing him (Ko) as a bribe-taking corrupt criminal, who would pocket any money he could, is basically to shame him, to destroy him," Chen said in the post and voiced her disagreement with such "unfair and untrue" opinions.

It was the second time Chen was questioned by prosecutors as part of their investigation into allegations that Ko used his position to illegally benefit the Core Pacific Group in redeveloping land in Taipei during his second term as mayor from 2018 to 2022.

He also allegedly took bribes related to the project, though prosecutors are still trying to dig up evidence to prove that charge.

Ko and Chen were first questioned by the Agency Against Corruption on Aug. 30 after prosecutors searched their home and his offices earlier that day. Former Deputy Mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲) was also questioned on the same day and subsequently detained.

The three were questioned after Core Pacific Group Chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京), Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei (應曉薇) and several others were taken into custody by prosecutors Aug. 27-28 for their alleged involvement in the corruption case.