In the early part of the 1960s, South Korea was dealing with a serious trade deficit. The domestic market of the nation was not really that strong to support domestic businesses. Following 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. In 1953, the nation 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 during this period of economic emergence. Daewoo, that translates as "Great Universe," was established in 1967.
The initial share capital of the corporation was only $18,000, but Kim along with his partners believed that the company will become a great success. This proved true, and Daewoo went on to become among the nation's biggest chaebols, or corporations. The business had operations in a huge range of businesses, including building ships, motor vehicles, aerospace, heavy industry, telecommunications, consumer electronics, trading and financial services. Exports were promoted a lot and a network of offices was established abroad. Ultimately, there were over 100 branches all over the world. The corporation at its peak sold thousands of different products in more than 130 nations. By the late 1990s the business had become considerably overextended. Daewoo was really in debt, and Kim faced charges of corporate wrong doing. The South Korean government ordered the conglomerate dismantled during the year 1999 and other businesses purchased most of the company's holdings.