Ko Wen-je

Ko Wen-je (Chinese: 柯文哲; pinyin: Kē Wénzhé; born 6 August 1959), also known by his nickname Ko P, is a Taiwanese politician, physician, and transplant surgeon who served as the 13th mayor of Taipei from 2014 to 2022. He founded the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) in 2019 and was the party's first chairman until 2025.

A specialist in intensive care medicine, Ko earned a doctorate from National Taiwan University in 2002, became a surgeon at National Taiwan University Hospital, and taught as a professor at the National Taiwan University College of Medicine. He played leading roles in standardizing organ transplant procedures in Taiwan and pioneered the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in Taiwan. Apart from his practice, he is known for his numerous media appearances and interviews as a social and political commentator.

In the 2014 local elections, Ko ran successfully as an independent candidate for the Taipei mayoralty, defeating Kuomintang (KMT) nominee Sean Lien. He was re-elected as mayor in the 2018 local elections. After serving two mayoral terms, he ran in the 2024 presidential election as the presidential nominee of his new Taiwan People's Party, with Cynthia Wu as his running mate. He campaigned as a "third way" between the DPP and KMT, the two parties which have traditionally dominated elections in Taiwan, and placed third, after Hou Yu-ih and Lai Ching-te.

In August 2024, prosecutors detained Ko to investigate a property development project from his time as mayor, and indicted him on bribery and other corruption charges in December 2024. He was detained, incommunicado, until being released from detention on bail of NT$70 million (US$2.32 million) in September 2025. Ko’s detention triggered claims of political persecution and protests.

Ko Wen-je was born in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on August 6, 1959, to Ho Jui-ying (Chinese: 何瑞英) and Ko Cheng-fa (Chinese: 柯承發; 1932–2025). He has a younger brother and sister, both of whom earned doctorates in information management and physiology, respectively. His father, Cheng-fa, was an elementary school teacher who graduated from the National Hsinchu University of Education. His paternal grandfather, Ko Shih-yuan (柯世元), was a teacher who was arrested and tortured during the February 28 incident, and died three years after. His paternal great-grandfather, Ko Hsien-yin (柯賢蔭), was the manager of a Buddhist temple in Baoshan, Hsinchu.

In 1974, Ko began attending National Hsinchu Senior High School, where four uncles and his brother had previously attended. He won awards in multiple subjects— including mathematics, biology, chemistry, and English—and graduated in 1977 as class valedictorian. In 1978, he enrolled at National Yang-Ming University to study medicine, but chose to resit the college entrance examinations and transferred to National Taiwan University (NTU) in 1979. He earned his Bachelor of Medicine (M.B.) from NTU in 1986. As a medical student, he worked in the emergency care and intensive care units at the National Taiwan University Hospital. In order to pay for the school's tuition, Ko's father went to the Marshall Islands to work as a plumber and electrician.

From 1993 to 1994, Ko studied in the United States at the University of Minnesota, where he was a clinical research fellow in surgery, specialized in organ transplantation, and began a medical research project on artificial livers. He returned to NTU in September 1994 to complete doctoral studies in medicine and earned his Ph.D. in clinical medicine in 2002. His doctoral dissertation was titled, "Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: Clinical applications and prognosis projection" (Chinese: 體外膜氧合術:臨床應用與預後之預測).

After graduating from the National Taiwan University College of Medicine in June 1986, Ko briefly worked as an anesthetist at a local Hsinchu hospital. He had sat the medical license exams and attained the highest score nationwide. In October 1986, he was conscripted into the Republic of China Army and served in the 269th mechanized infantry division until August 1988. During his military service, Ko was a combat medic with the rank of second lieutenant.

In September 1988, Ko became a resident physician in surgery at National Taiwan University Hospital. On the advice of his professor, Chu Shu-hsun, he specialized in surgery and critical care in the NTU Department of Emergency Medicine. He also specialized in trauma, intensive care, organ transplant, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and artificial organs. In 1994, Ko, with an invitation from Chu Shu-hsun, helped found NTU's first organ transplant team, with the goal of performing heart transplants. Hoping to increase the transplant success rate, Ko introduced ECMO treatment from the US, and improved the transplant success rate from 19% to 51%. On 30 January 2008, Ko set a world record of 117 consecutive days for keeping a patient alive using ECMO. Using US treatment standards as a guide, Ko established a set of standards for organ transplant procedures that was later promulgated throughout Taiwan by the Department of Health.

On 15 July 2006, Ko wrote an article for the Min Sheng Daily titled "Reflections, Errors, and Apologies: Chao Chien-ming" that received considerable media attention and led to a number of politics-related interviews. On 18 November, Ko used ECMO to save the life of Shirley Shaw, wife of Taichung Mayor Jason Hu, who had fallen into a coma after a car accident. This incident and the media attention it drew caused Ko Wen-je to become a household name.

In 2010, Ko introduced the concept of integrated care to Taiwan, and established the Integrated Care Unit at NTU Hospital with the aim of reducing treatment cost and improving quality of treatment and quality of life for the attendant doctors and nurses. Ko directed the emergency care team that treated Sean Lien for critical wounds after he was shot in the face with a 9mm pistol on 26 November. Lien recovered quickly, which led the media to speculate about the veracity of his story, but Ko came forward to verify his claims. In 2013, Ko's emergency trauma care student Tseng Yu-tzu was hit by a drunk driver and sustained major trauma. Ko went to the hospital as soon as he was notified and oversaw her treatment, but she died. As a result of this incident, Ko founded Taiwan Against Drunk Driving.

When Chen Shui-bian was elected as Taipei City Mayor in 1994, Ko provided support to him from the medical community. He also supported Chen in the 2000 presidential election, when he took two weeks off work to support Chen's fundraising efforts. Ko is also a long-time member of the "Friends of A-bian Club". In April 2012, Ko enrolled in a course at Ketagalan Institute, a school originally founded by Chen in 2003. In response to the political nature of the course and its timing, Ko explained that he enrolled because he had been asked to, and that he would not sign a petition requesting that Chen be pardoned for corruption charges.

When Chen Shui-bian's health declined in prison, Ko organized a medical team for him. Around June 2012, Ko and other prominent members of the medical community started a petition asking that Chen be released for medical treatment. Ko made numerous statements expressing his view that Chen should be granted compassionate release.

On 6 January 2014, Ko announced his candidacy for Taipei City Mayor. On 16 January, he set up a campaign office and began recruiting campaign staff and volunteers. Ko said that his being targeted for punishment in the 2011 NTU Hospital HIV organ transplant incident was the main factor in his decision to run for mayor. Ko was hesitant about joining the DPP, and he ultimately decided to run as an independent while coordinating with the DPP. After Pasuya Yao made it through the first round of DPP primaries, Ko agreed to a debate on 12 June, and subsequently won the DPP polls. On 16 June, the DPP agreed not to put forward a candidate for the election, and to support Ko as the representative of the Pan-Green Coalition, without forcing Ko to join any political party.

On 10 November, Ko announced his intention to reject further monetary donations to his campaign, as the amount received by 31 October exceeded the NT$87 million cap set for Taipei mayoral elections. Ko's campaign was managed by Yao Li-ming (general manager), Lee Ying-yuan (political platform), Chi Cheng (civic organizations), and Chiou Yue-yee ("We Care" youth organization). Ko's advisers included political scientist and politician Julian Kuo, political activist and filmmaker Yang Huei-ju, and former DPP secretary Chang Yee-shan. DPP city councillor Chien Yue-yen, neurologist Pan Cheng-chih, and two recruits from youth outreach efforts were the acting spokespeople for the campaign.

Ko emerged the winner in the Taipei mayoral election on 29 November 2014, becoming the first physician mayor of the city since the introduction of direct election to the office. He appointed Teng Chia-chi, Charles Lin, and Chou Li-fang deputy mayors. Chou resigned her post in January 2016 and was replaced by Chen Chin-jun.

Unlike in 2014, the DPP did not endorse Ko in the 2018 Taipei mayoral election and instead fielded their own candidate. Nevertheless, Ko received significant support from pan-Green voters, many of whom saw Ko as having a more realistic chance of defeating the Kuomintang candidate. Ko was narrowly reelected.

In March 2019, Ko named Tsai Ping-kun a deputy mayor of Taipei.

During Ko's eight years in office, his office started and completed 4,807 units of social housing. In addition, he completed another 1,297 units that were started but not completed by his predecessor, Hau Lung-pin. When Ko left office in December 2022, another 8,226 units of social housing that Ko had started were under construction. As of 31 December 2022, the total public housing stock in Taipei City, excluding incomplete units, numbered 11,383.

Ko began the process of reconstructing various markets, including Dalong Market, Huannan Market, Chenggong Market, and Nanmen Market. The old markets and their outdated designs were no longer adequate to support modern hygiene practices and public safety. In addition, there were unacceptable levels of chloride ions in the reinforced concrete buildings of both Dalong Market and Nanmen Market. Colloquially known as Haisha buildings, buildings constructed with such concrete corrode over time, leading to mechanical failure and collapse. Dalong Market's reconstruction was completed and it reopened to the public in 2019; Huannan Market in 2020; and Nanmen Market in 2023.

North facade of Taipei North Gate

Ko embarked on an extensive urban renewal project in Taipei's west end, directly translated as the Taipei West District Gateway Project. Comprising many interconnected projects, the plan aimed to create a more livable and family-friendly neighborhood with new options for parks and recreation, while highlighting the area's history. The plan's goals also included improving traffic flows, increasing foot traffic, and beautifying the environment. The area acts as a gateway to Taipei because it is where Taipei Main Station is located, a major transit hub served by Taiwan High Speed Rail, Taiwan Railway, Taipei Metro, Taoyuan Airport MRT, and numerous bus lines.

The Ko government eliminated and replaced all remaining lead pipes in Taipei by September 2017, which affected 17,714 households. A previous administration had originally scheduled the lead pipes to be replaced by 2025, but Ko accelerated the timeline when Hong Kong's 2015 drinking water scandal raised similar concerns about health effects in Taiwan.

Ko built two detention basins in the Wenshan district to help prevent flash floods. Construction on both started in November 2015. By October 2017, both detention basins were operational with a combined volume of 45,000 cubic meters. According to Ko, with the new detention basins contributing to a comprehensive flood control strategy, the area could now withstand up to 78.8 millimeters per hour of rain without flooding, up from 59 mm per hour previously, bringing Wenshan district up to the same standards as the rest of Taipei.

During Ko's tenure, Taipei City paid down NT$57.1 billion of debt. When Ko left office at the end of 2022, NT$89.8 billion of debt remained, down from NT$146.9 billion at the beginning of his first term. The debt repayment mostly occurred from 2015 to 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic began, the debt stayed roughly constant at NT$89.8 billion between 2020 and 2022.

Ko founded the Taiwan People's Party in August 2019, and was elected its first chairman on August 6, 2019. In founding the party, Ko said that he wanted to offer Taiwanese an alternative to the Democratic Progressive Party-led green camps and the Kuomintang-led blue camps. He resigned as chairman on January 1, 2025, and was replaced by Huang Kuo-chang.

On 8 May 2023, Ko registered as the only candidate for the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) primary for the 2024 Taiwanese presidential elections. On 17 May, the TPP officially nominated Ko as its presidential candidate and he held a press conference on 20 May to formally announce his candidacy.

A third-party candidate, Ko represented a break from the traditional two-party system, and positioned his campaign as a force for real change. His platform focused on domestic bread-and-butter issues like the high cost of housing and low wages. On cross-strait relations, Ko espoused a pragmatic approach that can be described as in between that of the DPP and the KMT. He was open to improving ties with China through cultural exchanges and economic cooperation, while pledging to increase defense spending from 2.5% to 3% of gross domestic product.

On 15 November 2023, TPP and KMT leadership announced a plan to field a single joint presidential ticket consisting of Ko and KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih, with the order to be determined by opinion polls and publicly announced on 18 November. However, Ko was unable to come to an agreement with the KMT leadership, and on 19 November he publicly affirmed that he still intended to run as the presidential candidate of the TPP. Speculation continued until the filing deadline on 24 November, when Ko registered his candidacy along with his running mate Cynthia Wu.

On 13 January 2024, Ko received 26.46% of the popular vote. Ko conceded the presidential election to Lai Ching-te, stating that the TPP had shown that Taiwan was no longer dominated by the Pan-Blue or Pan-Green coalitions.

On 14 August 2024, Taipei prosecutors searched the office of a public relations firm which sells merchandise bearing Ko's "KP" logo, following allegations of false reporting of political expenses for the 2024 presidential election. Reportedly, Ko's campaign stated it paid NT$9.16 million (US$282,000) to two contractors, but the two companies stated they did not receive any payments. After conducting a preliminary internal audit, a TPP spokesperson said that the discrepancy was traced to the accountant incorrectly merging expense items among different vendors, without informing anyone at campaign headquarters. By merging expenses and reducing data entry, the accountant was able to meet the reporting deadline. The spokesperson further stated that the TPP had receipts to account for all previously unreported vendors, that each expense had been legitimately used on the campaign, and that no money had been personally pocketed. On 29 August, Ko announced that he would take a three-month leave of absence from Chair of the TPP.

On 30 August, Taipei prosecutors searched the Ko residence, TPP headquarters, and Ko's personal office. Ko was arrested and questioned as part of a corruption investigation into approvals for the Core Pacific City property development project when he was mayor of Taipei. He was initially released on 2 September after a court found insufficient evidence against him. However, prosecutors appealed the decision to release him, citing additional evidence. The Taiwan High Court concluded that Ko had been "actively involved" in the alleged corruption, ruling that the Taipei District Court should hold a second detention hearing for Ko on 5 September. Following the second hearing, the district court ordered that Ko be detained incommunicado in Taipei Detention Center.

Ko accused the government of attempting to "suppress" opponents and lambasted the legal system and press for doing the bidding of President Lai Ching-te's Democratic Progressive Party. The arrest ignited claims of political persecution and triggered a protest in Taipei on 8 September.

Ko was indicted on charges of bribery and corruption on 26 December 2024. Ko denied the charges. Further, Ko criticised the indictment, stating that it only relied on circumstantial evidence. On 2 January 2025, the Taipei District Court ordered the incommunicado detention of Ko, after the Taiwan High Court rejected its two earlier decisions to grant Ko bail. On 11 January 2025, tens of thousands of people attended a rally in Taipei to protest against a politicized judiciary and "political persecution" by the DPP.

On September 8, 2025, the Taipei District Court granted Ko bail, and he was released from jail after posting NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail.

On March 26, 2026, the Taipei District Court sentenced Ko to 17 years in prison and a 6-year deprivation of civil rights for bribery charges. Ko maintained that he is innocent. The ruling can be appealed.

In interviews leading up to the 2024 presidential election, Ko said that he would be pragmatic instead of ideological on foreign policy, including relations with China and the US. He said that he would pursue both deterrence and dialogue to stabilize relations with China and maintain peace, and that he offered a middle ground between what he described as the KMT’s submissiveness toward Beijing and the DPP’s approach of provoking conflict. Ko said that Taiwan was caught in the middle of the rivalry between China and the US. Characterizing political relations as constantly changing, he proposed managing the three-way relationship in a "dynamic equilibrium". Instead of prioritizing one superpower over the other, he wanted Taiwan to adopt a flexible foreign policy that evaluates various options and adjusts policy accordingly.

As a prerequisite to cross-strait exchange, Ko said he believed in approaching China from a position of defensive military strength. He called for increasing Taiwan’s defense spending from 2.5% to 3% of GDP, reforming training of conscripts, and continuing to invest in domestic defense industries. Abroad, he planned to improve relations with democratic allies in the region and to hold high-level defense talks with Japan and the US.

Ko stressed the necessity of dialogue with China to maintain peace. He cited his experience organizing the annual Taipei-Shanghai City Forum when he was mayor as an example of establishing cross-strait exchange. On the issue of Taiwan independence, Ko said that maintaining the status quo was the only pragmatic option because declaring independence would lead to war. He said, "There’s no point in even talking about unification or independence right now because you can’t achieve either." Ko has never endorsed the 1992 Consensus, which Beijing has insisted as a condition of communication. Instead, he has proposed "five mutual principles", which asks both sides to "know, understand, respect, cooperate with, and forgive" each other. Ko has repeated the phrase, "Two sides of the strait are one family", echoing language used by General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping and inviting accusations of appeasing Beijing. He explained it as an "attitude" with which peace can be maintained.

Ko has voiced support for better economic relations with mainland China. He proposed restarting talks on the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement with China, but with new transparency requirements; he withdrew the proposal after public criticism. He also proposed building a bridge between Kinmen and Xiamen, suggesting that it would solve many of Kinmen's problems related to water, power supply, and waste disposal.

On 26 August 2024, Taipei City councillor Lin Yen-feng held a news conference stating that she received a tip-off that Ko had purchased a NT$43 million (US$1.3 million) office unit in May, questioning the source of funds given Ko's financial disclosure filed as part of his presidential campaign. Ko confirmed that he legally used a portion of his presidential election subsidy, estimated to total NT$110 million, to purchase the office.

In November 2024, Mirror Media alleged that at a 2022 meeting, Ko suddenly reached out to touch the arm of media personality Chu Mei-feng and called her a "temptress" as she was leaving. A TPP spokesperson said the accuracy of the report could not be verified.

In October 2014, Taiwanese media reported allegations that Ko was "involved" in acquiring forcefully harvested organs from China. The allegations stemmed from a chapter in The Slaughter by Ethan Gutmann, for which Gutmann interviewed Ko. Ko denied the allegations. Through a lawyer, Ko requested corrections to the book. In response, Gutmann's lawyer Clive Ansley stated:

... No English-speaking reader to date has understood for one moment that Dr. Ko was acting as an "organ broker". No English-speaking reader to date believes that Dr. Ko was trying to purchase organs himself or was in any way involved in any sort of profit-making venture. ... We believe that language, translation, and the heated environment of the political campaign for the mayoral race in Taipei may be playing a role in misconstruing the author's intentions and clouding the issue. ... In conclusion, we reiterate that we think the Taiwan media has been unfair in its treatment of both Dr. Ko and Mr. Gutmann. Mr. Gutmann believes, and we think his book demonstrates, that Dr. Ko has acted honourably ... and that he has contributed significantly to the international effort to expose the medical crimes which continue to be perpetrated in China.

Ko's wife, Chen Pei-chi, was born in Penghu, Taiwan. She earned a medical degree from National Taiwan University. She is the director of Pediatrics for Taipei City Hospital, Heping Fuyou Women and Children's Health Branch. Ko and Chen have three children: one boy and two girls. Ko has claimed to have Asperger syndrome, but, as of 2014, had not been diagnosed. His son has the condition.

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