Former Taiwan presidential candidate Ko Wen-je was arrested on Saturday following a lengthy interrogation about his alleged involvement in a property scandal from his tenure as Taipei’s mayor.
Ko, leader of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and a former surgeon, ran as a third-party candidate in January’s presidential election, securing about 25% of the vote.
He is now at the center of a corruption investigation linked to a property development scandal during his mayoral term from 2014 to 2022.
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Investigators raided Ko’s home on Friday, leading to a 19-hour interrogation.
According to TPP, Ko was arrested around 2 a.m. on Saturday (6:00 p.m. GMT Friday) to restrict his personal freedom.
Ko’s lawyer sought to have the arrest reviewed, but the Taipei District Court rejected the petition, as confirmed by TPP.
Ko has denied any wrongdoing but announced he is stepping down from his party leadership role for three months.
In the January election, TPP won eight seats in Taiwan’s parliament, giving it significant influence.
Neither the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nor the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) secured a clear majority.
Earlier this year, TPP and KMT passed controversial reforms aimed at expanding parliament’s powers to combat corruption, which the DPP opposed and are now under review by Taiwan’s constitutional court.
