During the early 1960s, South Korea was experiencing a serious trade deficit. The country's domestic market was not strong enough to support domestic industries. 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. During 1953, the nation was at peace finally, 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 essential resources, South Korea became an economic miracle. Daewoo Group was founded 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 together with his partners believed that the business will become a great success. This proved true, and Daewoo went on to become among the nation's biggest chaebols, or conglomerates. The corporation had operations within a wide range of industries, like for example 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 in various nations. Eventually, there were more than 100 branches throughout the world. The business at its peak sold thousands of various items in over 130 countries. By the late 1990s the business had become significantly overextended. Daewoo was seriously in debt, and Kim was accused of corporate wrong doing. The South Korean government ordered the conglomerate dismantled during 1999 and other corporations purchased most of the company's holdings.