In the early 1960s, South Korea was dealing with a serious trade deficit. The domestic market of the nation was not really that strong to support domestic industries. Following WWII, when the Allies divided Korea, 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 nation was finally at peace, and South Korea started an intensive drive towards economic growth, 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 in the year 1967.
Even if the company's initial share capital was just $18,000, Kim as well as his partners believed that the business will be successful. This proved true, because Daewoo became amongst the largest chaebols, or corporations of the country. The corporation had operations in a wide range of businesses, including shipbuilding, motor vehicles, aerospace, heavy industry, telecommunications, consumer electronics, financial services and trading. Exports were heavily promoted and a network of offices was established abroad. Eventually, there were more than 100 branches all over the world. The business at its peak sold thousands of different products in over 130 nations. By the latter part of the 1990s the company had become considerably overextended. Daewoo was really in debt, and Kim faced charges of corporate wrong doing. The South Korean government ordered the company dismantled during 1999 and other businesses purchased most of the company's holdings.