The Taipei District Court has approved a Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office request to impound the construction site of Core Pacific Plaza (京華廣場) amid a probe into alleged corruption regarding its redevelopment.
In 2019, the Core Pacific City shopping mall was sold by tender by Core Pacific Group (威京集團) to Dingyue Development Corp (鼎越開發).
In 2020, it was torn down and Core Pacific Plaza, a high-end office complex, was to be built at the site.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Dingyue lobbied the Taipei City Government to grant the building a bulk reward under the city’s urban renewal program for the redevelopment project, with the floor area ratio surging from 392 percent in 2011 under former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) administration to 560 percent in 2018 and then 840 percent in 2020 while Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was mayor.
In January, the Control Yuan issued corrective measures against the city government and its Urban Planning Commission and Department of Urban Development, due to “material defects” in the commission’s approval of a 20 percent building bulk reward to the redevelopment project.
The commission misinterpreted the Regulations of Bulk Reward for Urban Renewal (都市更新建築容積獎勵辦法) and should resolve the problem, the Control Yuan said.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office has been investigating alleged corruption related to the project since May and has detained seven people for their alleged involvement in the case, including Ko.
The office considered the 20 percent bulk reward to be unlawful gains that should be confiscated, which is estimated to total more than NT$11.17 billion (US$349.47 million), and last week petitioned the court for seizure of the construction site.
Dingyue said in a statement on Friday that it would appeal the court’s decision, as the office’s petition has affected the rights of its shareholders.
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) on Friday tabled a motion to suspend the redevelopment project, which received bipartisan support.
Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) yesterday said the Construction Management Office would suspend inspections of the project once the seizure of the land is confirmed.
The company cannot obtain the building use permit if the construction continues, he said.
However, despite the suspension of inspections, the city would fine Dingyue if construction proceeds without inspection, but the company could still remedy the situation, Lee said.
The city government would seek written validation from the court on the suspension of the project to prevent state compensation scenarios, he said.
Additional reporting by Yang Hsin-hui
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