Early History
The South Korean government during the early 1960s began a new economic strategy which required huge businesses known as "chaebols" to concentrate on producing exports. This new strategy called for a series of five year plans that were intended to lessen the trade deficit the nation was going through while helping to bolster the nation's production. This was a plan which had already been successfully used y both Hong Kong and Taiwan, the Far East competitors of South Korea. Daewoo was a key player in this effort to boost the significance of South Korea's exports.
The government of South Korea sponsored cheap loans for chaebols manufacturing goods for export. Daewoo benefited from the loans when it started trading in 1967. This was at the beginning of the second five-year plan. The corporation Daewoo capitalized on the country's large workforce, its primary asset. By concentrating on labour-intensive industries, like textile and clothing, the business yielded high profits. The corporation's factory within Pusan made 3.6 million shirts on a monthly basis. Furthermore, the company manufactured basic manufacturing equipment, that were also labour intensive. In this time, the company Daewoo helped to boost the level of exports of South Korea, that were growing almost 40% per year.
Korea's comparative advantage in labor-intensive production began to decline, when the demand for labour pushed the wages upwards. Malaysia and Thailand became market competitors to South Korea, which forced the country to concentrate on the industries of shipbuilding, petrochemicals, mechanical and electrical engineering, and construction. This phase of the nation's economic recovery lasted from the year 1973 to the year 1981. This happened at the same time as the US announced its intentions to totally withdraw its peacekeeping forces from the country. The new emphasis in production was intended to further expand Korea's exports while simultaneously producing parts that previously had to be imported. Domestic parts manufacturing helped to make possible a national defense industry and strengthen domestic industries.