In the early part of the 1960s, South Korea was dealing with a serious trade deficit. The domestic market of the country was not truly that strong to support domestic businesses. After World War II, 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 1953, the nation was finally at peace, and South Korea started an intensive drive towards economic development, transforming quickly 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 translates as "Great Universe," was founded during the year 1967.
Even though the corporation's initial share capital was just $18,000, Kim as well as his partners believed that the company will be successful. This proved true, and Daewoo went on to become among the nation's biggest chaebols, or businesses. The corporation had operations within a wide range of businesses, including building ships, motor vehicles, aerospace, heavy industry, consumer electronics, telecommunications, trading and financial services. Exports were promoted a lot and a network of offices was established abroad. Ultimately, there were more than 100 branches throughout the globe. The business at its peak sold thousands of various products in over 130 countries. By the late 1990s the corporation had become considerably overextended. Daewoo was seriously in debt, and Kim faced charges of corporate wrong doing. The government of South Korea ordered the corporation dismantled in the year 1999 and other corporations bought most of the company's holdings.