South Korea was going through a serious trade deficit in the early 1960s. The domestic market of the nation was not really that strong to support domestic industries. After WWII, when the Allies divided Korea, all the natural resources were in the territory north of the 38th parallel. With its stronger military, North Korea, wasted little time before invading the South after the US military withdrawal. In 1953, the nation was finally at peace, and South Korea started an intensive drive towards economic development, quickly transforming from an agrarian economy to a centrally planned, industrial economy. Determined to never again go through hostile invasions and lack of essential resources, South Korea became an economic miracle. Daewoo Group was founded by Kim Woo Choong during this period of economic emergence. Daewoo, that means "Great Universe," was established during 1967.
Even though the corporation's initial share capital was just $18,000, Kim as well as his partners believed that the company will be successful. This proved true, and Daewoo went on to become among the country's biggest chaebols, or conglomerates. The business had operations in a huge array of industries, like for instance motor vehicles, building ships, heavy industry, aerospace, consumer electronics, telecommunications, trading and financial services. Exports were greatly promoted and a network of offices was established abroad. Eventually, there were over 100 branches throughout the globe. The business at its peak sold thousands of various items in more than 130 countries. By the late 1990s the business had become considerably overextended. Daewoo was seriously in debt, and Kim was accused of corporate wrong doing. The government of South Korea ordered the conglomerate dismantled in the year 1999 and other businesses purchased most of Daewoo's holdings.