Early History
The South Korean government in the early part of the 1960s began a new economic plan which required big companies called "chaebols" to focus on producing exports. This new plan called for a series of five year plans that were designed to lessen the trade deficit the country was experiencing while helping to bolster the country's production. This was a plan which had already been successfully employed by South Korea's Far East competitors, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The company Daewoo was a key player in this effort to boost the significance of South Korea's exports.
To assist the chaebols in their efforts for production of exports, the South Korean government sponsored cheap loans for chaebols. Daewoo was amongst these businesses that benefited in the year 1967. This was at the beginning of the second five-year plan. The company Daewoo capitalized on the nation's huge labor force, its primary asset. By concentrating on labour-intensive businesses, like for instance textile and clothing, the business yielded high profits. The factory of the corporation in Pusan made 3.6 million shirts on a monthly basis. The corporation also made basic manufacturing machines, which were also labour intensive. In this time, the company Daewoo helped to increase South Korea's level of exports, that were growing almost 40 percent per year.
Korea's comparative advantage in labor-intensive production began to decline, when the demand for labour pushed the wages upwards. Thailand and Malaysia became market competitors to South Korea, which forced the nation to concentrate on the industries of petrochemicals, shipbuilding, electrical and mechanical engineering, and construction. This specific phase of Korea's economic recovery lasted from 1973 to 1981. This took place at the same time as the United States announced its intentions to completely withdraw its peacekeeping forces from the nation. The new emphasis in production was meant to further the expansion of Korea's exports while at the same time producing parts that previously had to be imported. Local components manufacturing helped to strengthen domestic businesses and make possible a national defense industry.