KMT wins legal battle over NT$3.2 billion party asset penalty

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) The Kuomintang (KMT) won a lawsuit on Thursday against a government agency attempting to collect NT$3.2 billion (US$99.1 million) for land the party sold, which the authority ruled was acquired illegally during the authoritarian era.

The Supreme Administrative Court rejected an appeal by the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee (CIPAS), upholding a lower court ruling in May 2025 that revoked its decision to collect the funds from the opposition party.

Thursday's ruling was final.

The land, known as Chunghsing Estate (中興山莊) in Taipei's Wenshan District, once spanned over 90,000 square meters at the KMT's peak holding, according to CIPAS.

CIPAS, a body established in 2016 by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government to recover ill-gotten party assets as part of its transitional justice efforts, determined that the Chunghsing Estate constituted part of the KMT's ill-gotten assets in February 2022 following investigations into complaints filed by citizens.

According to CIPAS, portions of the land were sold off to third parties over the years -- including the Taipei City government and private developers -- though the site still houses the KMT's Institute of Revolutionary Practice.

Because the relevant plots of land had been transferred to third parties and could not be returned to the state, CIPAS ordered the KMT to forfeit an equivalent value of approximately NT$3.2 billion, citing the Act Governing the Settlement of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations.

The KMT sued CIPAS over its decision, and the Taipei High Administrative Court ruled in favor of the KMT, revoking the disposition because the land did not meet the provisions of Paragraph 2, Article 5 of the legislation, which requires that the property must have been acquired either gratuitously or for a price manifestly below market value.

Following an appeal by CIPAS, the Supreme Administrative Court ultimately dismissed the appeal, annulling the NT$3.2 billion penalty.