South Korea was dealing with a serious trade deficit in the early 1960s. The country's domestic market was not strong enough to support domestic industries. Following World War II, when Korea was divided by the Allies, 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 following the withdrawal of the U.S. military. In 1953, the nation was at peace finally, and South Korea started an intensive drive towards economic development, quickly transforming from an agrarian economy to an industrial, centrally planned economy. Determined to never again experience hostile invasions and lack of vital resources, South Korea became an economic miracle. Daewoo Group was founded by Kim Woo Choong in this period of economic emergence. Daewoo, which translates as "Great Universe," was established during 1967.
Even if the corporation's initial share capital was just $18,000, Kim and his partners believed that the company will be successful. This proved true, and Daewoo went on to become amongst the nation's biggest chaebols, or corporations. The business had operations within a huge range of industries, like building ships, motor vehicles, aerospace, heavy industry, consumer electronics, telecommunications, trading and financial services. Exports were heavily promoted and a network of offices was established in various nations. Ultimately, there were over 100 branches all around the globe. The business at its peak sold thousands of different products in over 130 countries. By the latter part of the 1990s the company had become considerably overextended. Daewoo was seriously in debt, and Kim faced charges of corporate wrong doing. The South Korean government ordered the conglomerate dismantled in the year 1999 and other corporations purchased most of the company's holdings.