During the early 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 World War II, 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 experience hostile invasions and lack of vital resources, South Korea became an economic miracle. Daewoo Group was founded by Kim Woo Choong in this period of economic emergence. Daewoo, which means "Great Universe," was established during 1967.
Even if the corporation's initial share capital was only $18,000, Kim as well as his partners believed that the business would be successful. This proved true, and Daewoo went on to become one of the country's biggest chaebols, or businesses. The company had operations in a wide range of businesses, like for instance motor vehicles, shipbuilding, heavy industry, aerospace, consumer electronics, telecommunications, trading and financial services. Exports were heavily promoted and a network of offices was established abroad. Ultimately, there were over 100 branches throughout the globe. The business at its peak sold thousands of different products in over 130 nations. By the late 1990s the corporation had become considerably overextended. The corporation was really in debt, and Kim faced charges of corporate wrong doing. The South Korean government ordered the corporation dismantled during the year 1999 and other businesses purchased most of the company's holdings.