South Korea was dealing with a serious trade deficit in the early 1960s. 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. North Korea, with its stronger military, wasted little time before invading the South after the withdrawal of the U.S. military. During 1953, the nation was finally at peace, and South Korea started an intensive drive towards economic growth, quickly transforming from an agrarian economy to a centrally planned, industrial 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 founded in 1967.
The initial share capital of the corporation was only $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 amongst the nation's biggest chaebols, or corporations. The business had operations in a huge range of businesses, like building ships, motor vehicles, aerospace, heavy industry, consumer electronics, telecommunications, financial services and trading. Exports were heavily promoted and a network of offices was established abroad. Ultimately, there were over 100 branches all over the globe. The company at its peak sold thousands of various items in over 130 nations. By the latter part of the 1990s the business had become significantly overextended. Daewoo was seriously in debt, and Kim faced charges of corporate wrong doing. The government of South Korea ordered the conglomerate dismantled during 1999 and other businesses bought most of the company's holdings.