Lin served as a legislator from 1999 to 2012, and as vice chairperson of the
Kuomintang from 2006 to 2008. In January 2012, Lin was appointed as the Secretary-General of the
Executive Yuan, making him the youngest person to ever hold the position. On 27 June 2012, local media reported that Lin had accepted a bribe of NT$63 million from Chen Chi-hsiang in exchange for helping his Dih Yeon Mineral Selection Company secure a contract from
China Steel Corporation in 2010. The Taipei District Court sentenced Lin to seven years and four months in prison, stripped him of civil rights for five years, and ordered him to pay a fine of NT$15.8 million. Lin appealed the ruling to the Taiwan High Court, which lengthened his prison term to 13 years and six months. A subsequent appeal to the
Supreme Court found Lin guilty of "holding properties of unknown origin," for which he was issued a sentence of two years imprisonment. A second charge, of "receiving bribes in breach of official duties," regarded as a violation of the Anti-Corruption Act, was returned to the High Court for retrial. The Taiwan High Court added six months to Lin's sentence in April 2019. ==Personal life==