J.W. Kuo

J.W. Kuo (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.

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. Kuo has served as chairman of TeaLa, and co-founded TOPCO Scientific Company.

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. 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.

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. 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.

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.