Early History
In the early part of the 1960s, the South Korean government began a new economic strategy that requires the conglomerates, or chaebols, to concentrate on increasing production for export. A series of five year plans laid out the policy for decreasing South Korea's trade deficit while strengthening local production. This was a strategy that had already been employed successfully y both the Far East competitors of South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Daewoo was a major player in this effort to enhance the importance of South Korea's exports.
To help the chaebols in their efforts for production of exports, the South Korean government sponsored cheap loans for chaebols. Daewoo was among these businesses which benefited in 1967. This was at the start of the second five-year plan. The company Daewoo capitalized on the country's large labor force, its primary asset. By focusing on labour-intensive businesses, like for example textile and clothing, the business generated high profits. The factory of the company within Pusan made 3.6 million shirts on a monthly basis. The company also made basic manufacturing equipment, that were also labour intensive. In this time, the company Daewoo helped to increase the level of South Korea's exports, which were growing almost 40% 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, that forced the nation to concentrate on the industries of shipbuilding, petrochemicals, mechanical and electrical engineering, and construction. This particular phase of Korea's economic recovery lasted from the year 1973 to 1981. This took place at the same time as the US announced its intentions to completely withdraw its peacekeeping forces from the nation. The new emphasis in manufacturing was intended to further expand Korea's exports while simultaneously making components that had to be imported previously. Domestic components production helped to strengthen domestic businesses and make possible a national defense industry.