Former Taipei Mayor gets 17-year prison sentence for bribery and corruption

Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that a court sentenced former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, who had also been a presidential candidate, to 17 years in prison on Thursday for bribery and corruption.

Prosecutors proved the 66-year-old accepted T$17.1 million (roughly $535,000) in bribes tied to a capital real estate development project during his second mayoral term, spanning from 2018 to 2022. He was also convicted of misusing political donations.

Ko, who founded the opposition Taiwan People’s Party in 2019 and ran for president under its banner in 2024, was indicted in December 2024. While prosecutors initially sought a 28.5-year sentence, Ko has consistently denied the bribery charges, though he previously acknowledged mismanaging campaign funds. He spent nearly a year in pretrial detention before his release on bail in September 2025.

Despite Thursday’s sweeping conviction, the former mayor’s legal troubles are far from over; he remains under active investigation in six other cases.