TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) claimed on Friday (Dec. 27) that his wife, Chen Pei-chi (陳佩琪), handled stock purchases and he had no involvement when a judge questioned him on allegedly using part of the political donation to buy stocks. Prosecutors in Taipei have indicted Ko on charges related to the Core Pacific City case and political donations. following the completion of their investigation.
Prosecutors accused Ko of misusing political donations by channeling NT$15 million through Muke Company (木可公司) under the guise of portrait rights royalties. However, Ko stated that Muke Company was engaged to manage portrait rights contracts, and any operational details should be addressed to his former campaign CFO, Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗), as he "did not know in advance."
The court held a hearing to determine whether to continue detaining Ko and other defendants. Prosecutors alleged Ko used political donations to pay Muke Company employees' salaries, to which Ko responded that he only "just saw this today." He added that these employees were involved in campaign follow-up work, and he was unaware of who decided to use leftover campaign funds for this purpose.
Ko also faced accusations of investing political donations in Taiwan Land Development Corporation (台灣土地開發股份有限公司) headed by Chiu Fu-sheng (邱復生). He said he learned about this afterward and that his collaboration with Chiu was limited to online media advertising.
Ko argued that the situation is ambiguous regarding the Taiwan Prestige And Solicitude Foundation (眾望基金會), which he used for campaign activities after leaving his mayoral post. The court's decision on Ko's detention remains pending, with further developments anticipated in the coming days.
