Early History
The South Korean government in the early part of the 1960s began a new economic strategy that required large corporations called "chaebols" to concentrate on producing exports. This new strategy called for a series of five year plans that were intended to reduce the trade deficit the country was experiencing while helping to bolster the country's production. This was a strategy that had already been successfully employed y both South Korea's Far East competitors, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The corporation Daewoo had a major part in this effort to enhance the significance of South Korea's exports.
The government of South Korea sponsored cheap loans for chaebols manufacturing products for export. Daewoo benefited from the loans when it began trading in 1967. This was at the beginning of the second five-year plan. Daewoo took advantage of the country's huge workforce, its primary asset. By concentrating on labour-intensive businesses, like for example clothing and textile, the company generated high earnings. The company's factory within Pusan made 3.6 million shirts each month. The company also made basic manufacturing equipment, that were also labour intensive. In this time, the corporation Daewoo helped to increase South Korea's level of exports, which were growing almost 40% 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 petrochemicals, shipbuilding, electrical and mechanical engineering, and construction. This phase of the country's economic recovery lasted from the year 1973 to nineteen eighty one. This took place at the same time as the US announced its plans to completely withdraw its peacekeeping forces from the nation. The new emphasis in production was meant to further expand Korea's exports while at the same time producing components which had to be imported previously. Domestic parts production helped to strengthen domestic industries and make possible a national defense industry.