Early History
The government of South Korea in the early part of the 1960s began a new economic strategy that required large corporations known as "chaebols" to concentrate on manufacturing exports. This new plan called for a series of five year plans which were intended to lessen the trade deficit the country was going through while helping to bolster the country's production. This was a strategy which had already been successfully employed y both Taiwan and Hong Kong, South Korea's Far East competitors. Daewoo was a key player in this effort to improve the significance of South Korea's exports.
To help the chaebols in their efforts for production of exports, the government of South Korea sponsored cheap loans for chaebols. Daewoo was amongst these companies that benefited in 1967. This was at the start of the second five-year plan. The corporation Daewoo capitalized on the huge labor force of the nation, its primary asset. By focusing on labour-intensive industries, such as clothing and textile, the business generated high earnings. The corporation's factory within Pusan made 3.6 million shirts on a monthly basis. The corporation also made simple manufacturing equipment, that were also labour intensive. Throughout this time, Daewoo helped to increase South Korea's level of exports, that were growing nearly 40 percent per year.
Korea's comparative advantage in labor-intensive production began to decline, when the demand for labour pushed the wages upwards. Malaysia and Thailand became market competitors to South Korea, which forced the nation to focus on the businesses of petrochemicals, shipbuilding, electrical and mechanical engineering, and construction. This phase of the nation's economic recovery lasted from the year 1973 to the year 1981. This took place at the same time as the United States announced its intentions to completely withdraw its peacekeeping forces from the country. The new emphasis in production was intended to further expand Korea's exports while at the same time making components which previously had to be imported. Local components production helped to strengthen domestic industries and make possible a national defense industry.