In the early part of the 1960s, South Korea was going through a serious trade deficit. The domestic market of the country was not really that strong to support domestic businesses. Following WWII, when Korea was divided by the Allies, all the natural resources were in the territory north of the 38th parallel. North Korea, with its stronger military, wasted little time before invading the South following the withdrawal of the U.S. military. During 1953, the country was finally at peace, and South Korea began an intensive drive towards economic growth, quickly transforming from an agrarian economy to a centrally planned, industrial economy. Determined to never again experience hostile invasions and lack of essential resources, South Korea became an economic miracle. Daewoo Group was established by Kim Woo Choong during this period of economic emergence. Daewoo, that means "Great Universe," was founded during 1967.
Even if the corporation's initial share capital was only $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 companies. The corporation had operations within a wide array of industries, including motor vehicles, shipbuilding, aerospace, heavy industry, telecommunications, consumer electronics, financial services and trading. Exports were promoted a lot and a network of offices was established abroad. Ultimately, there were more than 100 branches all around the globe. The corporation at its peak sold thousands of various products in more than 130 nations. By the late 1990s the corporation had become considerably overextended. Daewoo was seriously in debt, and Kim was accused of corporate wrong doing. The South Korean government ordered the corporation dismantled in the year 1999 and other corporations purchased most of the company's holdings.