TAIPEI, March 26 (Reuters) - A Taipei court on Thursday sentenced former city mayor and one-time presidential candidate Ko Wen-je to 17 years in jail after finding him guilty of corruption and misuse of political donations, the official Central News Agency said.
Prosecutors had asked for a combined total of more than 28 years in prison for Ko, who is 66, saying he had accepted T$17.1 million ($535,563) in bribes over a major property development in the city. He also embezzled tens of millions in political donations, prosecutors said.
Ko, who was mayor from 2014 to 2022 and came third in 2024's presidential election, was arrested in 2024. He has been out on bail since September and has consistently denied wrongdoing, saying he is the target of a politically motivated investigation.
He is the founder of the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), whose current chairman, Huang Kuo-chang, decried the verdict in a post on his Facebook page.
"At this moment, we must pull ourselves together even more, because this road ahead is still very, very long. As long as Ko does not give up, we will not give up," Huang wrote from the courthouse, where he was accompanying Ko.
Ko also lost his citizenship rights for six years, meaning he cannot run for office, although he can appeal the verdict, the Central News Agency said.
The TPP only has eight seats in parliament, but generally votes with the largest opposition party, the Kuomintang. Together they have more seats than the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
The opposition have used their majority to stymie government plans and push their own legislative agenda.
Ko has attracted an impassioned fan base in Taiwan of mostly young people by focusing on issues such as the high cost of housing.
Some of those supporters protested outside the courthouse in central Taipei, proclaiming Ko's innocence.
($1 = 31.9290 Taiwan dollars)
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kevin Buckland)
