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 businesses. After WWII, 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 withdrawal of the U.S. military. During 1953, the nation was at peace finally, 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 experience hostile invasions and lack of essential 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 in the year 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, and Daewoo went on to become among the country's biggest chaebols, or businesses. The company had operations in a huge array of industries, like for instance building ships, motor vehicles, heavy industry, aerospace, consumer electronics, telecommunications, trading and financial services. Exports were promoted a lot and a network of offices was established abroad. Eventually, there were over 100 branches all around the globe. The company at its peak sold thousands of various products in more than 130 countries. By the late 1990s the business had become considerably overextended. Daewoo was seriously in debt, and Kim was accused of corporate wrong doing. The government of South Korea ordered the conglomerate dismantled in 1999 and other businesses bought most of the company's holdings.