South Korea was dealing with a serious trade deficit in the early part of the 1960s. The nation'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 following the withdrawal of the U.S. military. In 1953, the country was finally at peace, and South Korea started an intensive drive towards economic development, quickly transforming from an agrarian economy to an industrial, centrally planned economy. Determined to never again go through hostile invasions and lack of vital resources, South Korea became an economic miracle. Daewoo Group was established by Kim Woo Choong in this period of economic emergence. Daewoo, which means "Great Universe," was established in 1967.
Even though the corporation's initial share capital was only $18,000, Kim and his partners believed that the business will be successful. This proved true, because Daewoo became amongst the largest chaebols, or conglomerates of the country. The corporation had operations in a wide array of businesses, like building ships, 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 over 100 branches throughout the world. The company at its peak sold thousands of various items in over 130 nations. By the late 1990s the corporation had become significantly overextended. The company was really in debt, and Kim was accused of corporate wrong doing. The South Korean government ordered the corporation dismantled during 1999 and other corporations bought most of Daewoo's holdings.