Early History
In the early part of the 1960s, the South Korean government initiated a new economic strategy that requires the chaebols, or conglomerates, 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 which had already been utilized successfully y both South Korea's Far East competitors, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The corporation Daewoo was a key player 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 started trading during the year 1967. This was at the start of the second five-year plan. The company Daewoo took advantage of the large workforce of the country, its primary asset. By concentrating on labour-intensive businesses, such as clothing and textile, the company yielded high earnings. The corporation's factory in Pusan made 3.6 million shirts on a monthly basis. The corporation also manufactured basic manufacturing machinery, which were labour intensive too. Throughout this time, the company Daewoo helped to boost the level of South Korea's exports, which were growing nearly 40% per year.
Once the demand for labour pushed wages up, Korea's comparative advantage in labor-intensive production began to decline. Competition from Thailand and Malaysia forced Korea to refocus its energies on other businesses, such as shipbuilding, petrochemicals, mechanical and electrical engineering, and construction. This specific phase of the country's economic recovery lasted from 1973 to nineteen eighty one. This occurred at the same time as the United States announced its intentions to totally withdraw its peacekeeping forces from the nation. The new emphasis in manufacturing was intended to further the expansion of Korea's exports while simultaneously making parts which had to be imported previously. Local components production helped to strengthen domestic industries and make possible a national defense industry.