J.W. Kuo

In this Chinese name, the family name is Kuo.

J.W. Kuo (Chinese: 郭智輝; pinyin: Guō Zhìhuī; also romanized Kuo Jyh-huei; born 7 February 1953) is a Taiwanese business executive and politician who currently serves as Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs since 2024.

J.W. Kuo Kuo Jyh-huei
郭智輝
Official portrait, 2024
36th Minister of Economic Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 May 2024
Premier	Cho Jung-tai
Preceded by	Wang Mei-hua
Personal details
Born	7 February 1953 (1953-02-07) (age 71) Pingtung County, Taiwan
Political party	Independent

Early life

Kuo was born in Pingtung County. In his first sales job after completing military service, Kuo learned Japanese in two years, and later worked for Terry Gou as an interpreter and driver.^[1] Kuo has served as chairman of TeaLa, and co-founded TOPCO Scientific Company.^[2][3]

Political career

On 16 April 2024, Kuo was appointed Minister of Economic Affairs in Cho Jung-tai's incoming cabinet, succeeding Wang Mei-hua in the role.^[3][4] Legislators from the Kuomintang panned the selection of Kuo as economic minister, drawing attention to his 2005 conviction of violating the Securities and Exchange Act, TOPCO Group's investments and business registrations in mainland China, and his reneging on a "promise to become involved" in the Chinese Professional Baseball League.^[5]

In May 2024, Kuo announced to an ICT industry group plans for the Lai administration to open overseas science parks in countries where Taiwanese businesses have made major investments, including the United States, Mexico, and Japan.^[6] Kuo later signed an economic development statement of intent with Texas governor Greg Abbott in July 2024 and oversaw the opening of a State of Texas economic office in Taipei.^[7]

In July 2024, Kuo raised concerns about the reliability of Taiwan's electric power grid, claiming that, due to the increased power consumption from artificial intelligence data centers, the country would face electric shortages from 2025 to 2028, potentially leading to blackouts.^[8]

References

1. Yeh, Su-ping; Lai, Yu-chen; Wu, Jeffrey; Tseng, Jen-kai; Huang, Frances (16 April 2024). "Appointed economics minister dubbed 'slashie entrepreneur'". Central News Agency. Retrieved 16 April 2024. Republished as: "Appointed economics minister dubbed 'slashie entrepreneur'". Taipei Times. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
2. Liu, Chien-ling; Huang, Frances (1 February 2024). "Taiwan, Czech groups sign semiconductor cooperation MOU". Central News Agency. Retrieved 16 April 2024. Republished as: "Taiwan, Czech groups ink chip cooperation". Taipei Times. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
3. Teng, Pei-ju; Lin, Sean (16 April 2024). "New economics, national development heads tapped from private sector". Central News Agency. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
4. Chen, Christie (16 April 2024). "Economics minister, NDC chief among new Cabinet members announced". Central News Agency. Retrieved 16 April 2024. Republished as: Chen, Yun; Madjar, Kayleigh (16 April 2024). "New economics, digital ministers announced". Taipei Times.
5. Lin, Che-yuan; Chung, Jake (18 April 2024). "KMT lawmakers slam decision to appoint J.W. Kuo". Taipei Times. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
6. "New government plans to set up overseas science parks". Focus Taiwan. 2024-05-16. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
7. "Texas governor announces Taiwan trade office". Taipei Times. 2024-07-08. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
8. "郭智輝爆2025-2028供電吃緊 一情況恐全台大停電" [Kuo Jyh-huei reveals that electricity will be in short supply from 2025 to 2028, which may lead to blackouts across Taiwan]. 鏡新聞 (in Traditional Chinese). 2024-07-08. Retrieved 2024-07-08.

Political offices
Preceded by Wang Mei-hua	Minister of Economic Affairs of Taiwan 2024–present	Incumbent