During the early part of the 1960s, South Korea was experiencing a serious trade deficit. The country's domestic market was not strong enough to support domestic businesses. Following WWII, when the Allies divided Korea, 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 after 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, 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 during this period of economic emergence. Daewoo, that means "Great Universe," was established in 1967.
Even though the corporation's initial share capital was just $18,000, Kim as well as his partners believed that the company would be successful. This proved true, because Daewoo became amongst the largest chaebols, or corporations of the nation. The corporation had operations in a wide array of industries, like motor vehicles, building ships, aerospace, heavy industry, consumer electronics, telecommunications, trading and financial services. Exports were heavily promoted and a network of offices was established abroad. Eventually, there were more than 100 branches throughout the world. The business at its peak sold thousands of different products in over 130 countries. By the late 1990s the company had become significantly overextended. Daewoo was really in debt, and Kim faced charges of corporate wrong doing. The government of South Korea ordered the corporation dismantled in 1999 and other corporations purchased most of the company's holdings.