Taipei: A former Core Pacific Group executive admitted on Wednesday to bribing former Taiwan People's Party (TPP) leader Ko Wen-je in connection with a real estate development project during Ko's tenure as Taipei mayor from 2014 to 2022.
According to Focus Taiwan, former Core Pacific Development Corporation Chairman Chu Yea-hu testified as a witness before the Taipei District Court, revealing his involvement in delivering bribes to illegally enhance the floor area ratio (FAR) of the Core Pacific City redevelopment project in Songshan District. Chu stated that he was instructed by Chairman Sheen Ching-jing to liaise with Ko and other officials to facilitate the process.
Chu admitted to the court that the bribery scheme began approximately 18 months after he joined the Core Pacific Group, with his first meeting with Ko occurring in May 2016. This meeting was reportedly arranged through Tsai Pi-ru, then director of the mayor's office, where the development project was briefly discussed.
In February 2020, Chu facilitated a meeting between Sheen and Ko through Tung Chin-yeh, Ko's confidential secretary at the time. Although Chu was not present in the room during their conversation, he suggested that it likely involved the Core Pacific City case.
Chu further testified that Sheen directed him to manage NT$2.1 million in political donations to the TPP under the names of Core Pacific Group employees. Although Sheen did not explicitly state the purpose of these donations, Chu believed they were related to increasing the project's FAR. Chu received a deferred prosecution in exchange for his testimony and was ordered to pay NT$3.3 million to the public treasury.
The Taipei District Prosecutors Office indicted Ko, Sheen, and nine others in December on charges including bribery, embezzlement, and breach of trust under the Anti-Corruption Act. The defendants include former Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng, former head of the Taipei City Government Department of Urban Development Huang Ching-mao, and executive secretary of the city's Urban Planning Commission Shao Hsiu-pei.
Other individuals indicted were Kuomintang Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei, Ying's assistant Wu Shun-min, Core Pacific supervisor Chang Chih-cheng, Lee Wen-tsung, then head of the mayor's office, Lee Wen-chuan, chairperson of MuKo Public Relations, and accountant Tuanmu Cheng.
During the hearing on Thursday, the court summoned Ko, Sheen, Lee, and Ying for cross-examination. Observers in the courtroom included Ko's wife Chen Pei-chi, TPP leader Huang Kuo-chang, and TPP lawmaker Huang Shan-shan.