Work on property project may be halted after Ko Wen-je indicted for bribery

Taipei, Dec. 26 (CNA) The Taipei City government on Thursday said it does not rule out issuing a stop work order for a property redevelopment construction site after Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was indicted on charges of bribery related to the project during his second term as Taipei mayor 2018-2022.

The city government said it will hold a meeting to discuss the floor area ratio (FAR) and other matters in connection with the Core Pacific City redevelopment project within the next two weeks following the release of the indictment against Ko.

The FAR refers to the ratio of a building's total floor area to the size of the parcel of land on which it is built.

In the case, Ko is accused of accepting bribes of up to NT$17.1 million (US$0.52 million) to help the real-estate company Core Pacific Group illegally increase the FAR of the redevelopment project in a bid to raise the financial value of the property.

The project involves building a new office complex named Core Pacific Plaza on the site of the old Core Pacific City shopping mall in Taipei's Songshan District.

If experts determine that there are doubts about the legality of the significant increase in the FAR, work on the construction site will be stopped and the detailed plan will be canceled within one month, the city government said.

Ko was indicted Thursday on charges of bribery and other forms of corruption, in connection with real estate dealings during the 2018-2022 period.

He was also charged with embezzling political donations to the TPP during the 2024 presidential election.

Prosecutors are seeking a total sentence of 28.5 years for Ko, including 15 years for bribery, 5 years and 6 years for separate cases of embezzlement, and 2.5 years for breach of public trust, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office said.

Regarding the follow-up of the Core Pacific Plaza construction site, the city's Department of Urban Development indicated that under the Administrative Procedure Act, administrative agencies are required to conduct an investigation into the case first in accordance with prosecutors' indictment.

With the accusation related to the city's urban planning decision-making process for the redevelopment project, the city government will hold a meeting to discuss the legality of the urban planning process and the FAR increase regarding the project.

The city government said it will hold meetings within two weeks following the release of the indictment and if experts determine in the first meeting that there are indeed questions over the legality of the case, the detailed plan for the case will be withdrawn within one month, and the city's Construction Management Office will order the construction site to stop work in accordance with the Building Act.

Separately, asked by the media whether the FAR bonus granted to the Core Pacific City redevelopment project will be withdrawn, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said Thursday before a Cabinet meeting that Taipei will take time to understand the content of the indictment and handle all relevant matters in accordance with the law.

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Q&A/What is Core Pacific Case, how is TPP Chairman Ko involved?

Timeline/Core Pacific City corruption case involving ex-Taipei mayor (up to Dec. 26)