Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto said Thursday that South Koreans were “tough negotiators”, while revealing that he preferred sending a Papuan to do the talking with one of Indonesia’s major foreign investors. 

Prabowo made the comment when launching the $3.9 billion petrochemical plant belonging to South Korean chemical giant Lotte Chemical in Cilegon. In a speech broadcast by BeritaSatu TV, Prabowo admitted to being impressed by how South Koreans would train day and night, something which he witnessed first-hand during his days in the military. 

“Koreans are resilient. Negotiating with them is not easy. So if we have to make a deal with South Koreans, we should send a Papuan,” Prabowo said.

The Papuan comment alluded to Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia.

Before being the energy tsar, Bahlil was Indonesia’s investment minister for almost five years under Joko "Jokowi” Widodo.

In December 2019, he helped sort out the overlapping land problems involving Lotte Chemical Indonesia and state-run steelmaker Krakatau Steel. The freshly inaugurated plant is expected to produce ethylene, a key ingredient in plastic production. It will also manufacture polypropylene, which has a wide range of uses, starting from plastic packaging to textiles. 

Jokowi appointed Bahlil as the energy minister in August 2024, a post that the latter kept during Prabowo’s administration. South Korea was Indonesia’s seventh-largest foreign investor throughout 2024 with investments totaling nearly $3 billion. The South Korean money went to 11,210 projects over the said period.