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 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 after the US military withdrawal. During the year 1953, the country was at peace finally, and South Korea started an intensive drive towards economic development, transforming rapidly 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 in this period of economic emergence. Daewoo, that translates as "Great Universe," was established in the year 1967.
Even if the corporation's initial share capital was only $18,000, Kim as well as his partners believed that the business will be successful. This proved true, because Daewoo became among the largest chaebols, or corporations of the country. The company had operations within a huge range of businesses, like for example motor vehicles, shipbuilding, aerospace, heavy industry, consumer electronics, telecommunications, financial services and trading. Exports were promoted a lot and a network of offices was established in various countries. Ultimately, there were more than 100 branches throughout the globe. The corporation at its peak sold thousands of various products in over 130 nations. By the late 1990s the company had become considerably overextended. The corporation 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 bought most of Daewoo's holdings.