South Korea was dealing with a serious trade deficit during the early part of the 1960s. The country's domestic market was not strong enough to support domestic industries. Following WWII, 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 the year 1953, the country was finally at peace, and South Korea started an intensive drive towards economic growth, rapidly transforming from an agrarian economy to an industrial, centrally planned 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, which means "Great Universe," was established in the year 1967.
The initial share capital of the corporation was just $18,000, but Kim along with his partners believed that the business would become a great success. This proved true, and Daewoo went on to become among the country's largest chaebols, or conglomerates. The business had operations within a wide range of industries, like shipbuilding, motor vehicles, aerospace, heavy industry, telecommunications, consumer electronics, financial services and trading. Exports were heavily promoted and a network of offices was established in different countries. Eventually, there were more than 100 branches all around the globe. The corporation at its peak sold thousands of various products in more than 130 countries. By the latter part of the 1990s the business had become considerably overextended. The corporation was really in debt, and Kim faced charges of corporate wrong doing. The government of South Korea ordered the company dismantled in 1999 and other corporations bought most of Daewoo's holdings.