Early History
The South Korean government during the early part of the 1960s began a new economic plan that required huge companies referred to as "chaebols" to focus on producing exports. This new plan called for a series of five year plans which were intended to reduce the trade deficit the nation was experiencing while helping to bolster the nation's production. This was a strategy which had already been successfully employed by Taiwan and Hong Kong, South Korea's Far East competitors. Daewoo was a major player in this effort to boost the importance of South Korea's exports.
To assist the chaebols in their efforts for production of exports, the government of South Korea sponsored cheap loans for chaebols. Daewoo was one of these businesses which benefited during 1967. This was at the beginning of the second five-year plan. Daewoo capitalized on the large labor force of the country, its primary asset. By concentrating on labour-intensive industries, like textile and clothing, the business yielded high profits. The factory of the company within Pusan made 3.6 million shirts on a monthly basis. Moreover, the company made basic manufacturing equipment, that were also labour intensive. During this time, the company Daewoo helped to boost South Korea's level of exports, which were growing nearly 40 percent per year.
When the demand for labour pushed wages up, Korea's comparative advantage in labor-intensive production began to decline. Competition from both Thailand and Malaysia forced Korea to refocus its energies on other industries, like shipbuilding, petrochemicals, mechanical and electrical engineering, and construction. This phase of the country's economic recovery lasted from 1973 to the year 1981. This took place at the same time as the US announced its intentions to totally withdraw its peacekeeping forces from the nation. The new emphasis in manufacturing was meant to further the expansion of Korea's exports while simultaneously manufacturing parts which had to be imported previously. Domestic parts manufacturing helped to make possible a national defense industry and strengthen domestic businesses.