Leslie Koo

Koo Cheng-yun (; 28 November 1954 – 23 January 2017), also known by his English name Leslie Koo, was a Taiwanese business executive and billionaire who served as Chairman of Taiwan Cement Corporation. He was the second son of the prominent businessman and diplomat Koo Chen-fu, and a member of the Lukang Koo clan, one of the five wealthiest families of Taiwan.

Early life and education Koo was born in Taiwan on 28 November 1954. He was educated in the United States, where he graduated from the University of Washington in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in accounting and earned a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1981.

Career After the death of his elder brother Chester in late 2001, The company was at the time mired in 25 billion of debt because several risky investments made by Chester in the previous ten years had gone bad. After Li Chia-wei met Koo to discuss ideas for a plant shelter in 2006, Koo agreed to fund the project, operated by the Dr. Cecilia Koo Botanic Conservation Center (KBCC), on land in Gaoshu, Pingtung provided by Leslie Koo.

Bribery scandal In June 2003, Dayu Development Corporation, the Koo family's property subsidiary, was on the verge of insolvency and threatening the survival of the family business. To raise emergency funds, Leslie Koo needed to sell a parcel of land in Longtan District, Taoyuan owned by Dayu. He paid what he called a "commission" to an associate of the then first lady Wu Shu-chen, and in exchange President Chen Shui-bian arranged for the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park to rent and then buy the parcel, which was incorporated into the Longtan Science Park. where he died from cerebral haemorrhage on 23 January 2017.