Court hears arguments in cases against ex-Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je

Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) The Taipei District Court on Monday began hearing oral arguments in high-profile cases against former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who is accused of accepting bribes in a property development deal and misappropriating political donations.

Prosecutors said 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 said Core Pacific Group Chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) repeatedly lobbied the Taipei City government between 2010 and 2018 with little success, but after 2020, Ko approved almost all of Sheen's requests, including changes to the development project's detailed plans and floor area ratio (FAR).

The 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 as politically motivated.

"Courts should focus on facts and evidence, not compile stories based on conjecture," he said, without elaborating.

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 started amid suspicion about the sharp increase in the floor area ratio -- the total floor space of a building divided by the size of the land it sits on -- from 560 percent to 840 percent.

Ko faces a potential sentence of 28.5 years for allegedly accepting bribes of NT$17.1 million in the property development deal and 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.

Ko maintains that he is innocent and that the corruption charges against him are politically motivated.