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Daewoo ( ;
Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: ,
Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...
: , ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "dae" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean
chaebol A chaebol (, ; ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exc ...
(type of conglomerate) and automobile manufacturer. It was founded on 22 March 1967 as Daewoo Industrial and was declared bankrupt on 1 November 1999, with debts of about US$50 billion (equivalent to $ billion in ). Prior to the
1997 Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...
, Daewoo was the second largest conglomerate in South Korea after the
Hyundai Group Hyundai Group (; ) is a South Korean conglomerate founded by Chung Ju-yung. The first company in the group was founded in 1947 as a construction company. With government assistance, Chung and his family members rapidly expanded into various in ...
. There were about 20 divisions under the Daewoo Group, some of which survived as independent companies.


History


Beginning and development

The Daewoo Group was founded by
Kim Woo-choong Kim Woo-Choong (December 19, 1936 – December 9, 2019) was a South Korean businessman who was the founder and chairman of Daewoo Group until its collapse in 1999. Background Born in Daegu, he was the son of the provincial governor. He was a ...
in March 1967. He was the son of the Provincial Governor of
Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...
. He graduated from the Kyonggi High School, then finished with an Economics Degree at
Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the "SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in the ...
in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
. During the 1960s, after the end of the
Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...
government, the new government of
Park Chung Hee Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...
intervened to promote growth and development in the country. It increased access to resources, promoted exports, financed industrialization, and provided protection from competition to the chaebol in exchange for a company's political support. In the beginning, the Korean government instigated a series of five-year plans under which the chaebol were required to achieve a number of basic objectives. Daewoo did not become a major player until the second five-year plan. Daewoo benefited from government-sponsored cheap loans based on potential export profits. The company initially concentrated on labor-intensive clothing and textile industries that provided high profit margins because of South Korea's large and relatively inexpensive workforce. The third and fourth of the five-year plans occurred from 1973 to 1981. During this period, the country's labor force was in high demand. Competition from other countries began eroding South Korea's competitive edge. The government responded to this change by concentrating its efforts on mechanical and electrical engineering, shipbuilding, petrochemicals, construction, and military initiatives. At the end of this period, the government forced Daewoo into shipbuilding. Kim was reluctant to enter this industry, but Daewoo soon earned a reputation for producing competitively priced ships and oil rigs. During the next decade, the Korean government became more liberal in its economic policies. Small private companies were encouraged, protectionist import restrictions were loosened, and the government reduced positive discrimination ( affirmative action), to encourage free market trade and to force the chaebol to be more aggressive abroad. Daewoo responded by establishing a number of joint ventures with U.S. and European companies. It expanded exports of machine tools, defense products (under the S&T Daewoo company), aerospace interests, and semiconductor design and manufacturing. Eventually, it began to build civilian helicopters and airplanes, priced considerably cheaper than those produced by its U.S. counterparts. It also expanded efforts in the automotive industry and was ranked as the seventh largest car exporter and the sixth largest car manufacturer in the world. Throughout this period, Daewoo experienced great success at turning around faltering companies in South Korea. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Daewoo Group also produced consumer electronics, computers,
telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
products, construction equipment, buildings, and musical instruments.


Crisis and collapse

Daewoo Group ran into deep financial trouble in 1998 due to the
1997 Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...
, increasingly thin relationships with the Korean government under President
Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korea, South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democra ...
, and its own poor financial management. With the Korean government in deficit, access to cheap and nearly unlimited credit was severely restricted. In 1998, when the economic crisis forced most of the
chaebol A chaebol (, ; ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exc ...
to cut back, Daewoo added 14 new firms to its existing 275 subsidiaries, in a year where the group lost a total of on sales of . At the end of 1997, South Korea's four biggest chaebol had a debt of nearly five times their equity. While
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
and LG cut back in the midst of the economic crisis, Daewoo took on 40% more debt. By 1999, Daewoo, the second largest conglomerate in South Korea with interests in about 100 countries, went bankrupt, with debts of about US$50 billion (equivalent to $ billion in ). Soon after the demise, Kim Woo-choong fled to Vietnam, and former Daewoo factory workers put up
wanted poster A wanted poster (or wanted sign) is a poster distributed to let the public know of a person whom authorities wish to apprehend. They generally include a picture of the person, either a photograph when one is available or of a facial composite ...
s with his picture. Kim returned to Korea in June 2005 and was promptly arrested. He was charged with masterminding accounting fraud of 41 trillion won (US$43.4 billion), illegally borrowing 9.8 trillion won (US$10.3 billion), and smuggling US$3.2 billion out of the country, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency. On 30 May 2006, Kim was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of fraud and embezzlement. On the last day of the trial, Kim tearfully addressed the court, "I cannot dodge my responsibility of wrongly buttoning up the final button of fate."


Breakup and present status

The group was reorganized into three separate parts: '' Daewoo Corporation'', '' Daewoo Engineering & Construction'' and ''
Daewoo International Corporation POSCO International Corporation (포스코인터내셔널) is South Korea's largest trading company and a subsidiary of POSCO. The company was founded by Kim Woo-choong Kim Woo-Choong (December 19, 1936 – December 9, 2019) was a South Kore ...
''. They are active in many markets, most significantly in steel processing, ship building and financial services. The corporate entity known as "Daewoo Corporation" is now known as "
Daewoo Electronics Winia Electronics, formerly named Daewoo Electronics, is a South Korean home appliances company and a member of South Korean Winia Group. Established in 1971, it has since grown into a global business with more than 64 production sites, research ...
" and is focused solely on manufacturing electronics. Daewoo Electronics survives to this day, despite bankruptcy, with a new brand logo "DE", but many of the other subsidiaries and divisions have become independent or simply perished. In North America,
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
stores market Daewoo Electronics products under their "Trutech" brand on an ODM basis. In 2004,
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
pulled the
Daewoo Daewoo ( ; Hangul: , Hanja: , ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "dae" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomerat ...
brand of vehicles out of Australia and New Zealand, citing irreparable brand damage. Later that same year, GM announced that Daewoo Motors in Europe would change its name to
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
on 1 January 2005. In 2005, it was announced that Daewoo cars would have a
Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...
badge in Australia and New Zealand. In South Africa, Thailand, and the Middle East, Daewoo models were already branded Chevrolet. In South Korea, Daewoo was renamed GM Korea. As part of the company reorganization, the content and the structure of its brand portfolio (its brand architecture) was reorganized. In 2011, GM discontinued the Daewoo brand name in South Korea and replaced it with the Chevrolet brand. In 2015, Daewoo brand was relaunched as Ravon/
GM Uzbekistan UzAuto Motors (formerly GM Uzbekistan) is an automotive manufacturer owned by the Government of Uzbekistan. It is based in Asaka, Uzbekistan. It manufactures vehicles under the marques Chevrolet and Ravon, which is Uzbek for calm and straight roa ...
. The Daewoo commercial vehicle manufacturer was taken over by
Tata Motors Tata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company, headquartered in Mumbai, India, which is part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses. Formerly known as Tata En ...
.


Involvement in Myanmar

Daewoo also moved into the oil and gas industry. While Western oil and gas companies were unwilling to conduct business in
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
on account of the abysmal human rights record of the ruling military junta, Daewoo is one of three oil companies, along with the French company
TotalEnergies TotalEnergies SE is a French Multinational corporation, multinational integrated energy and List of oil exploration and production companies, petroleum company founded in 1924 and one of the seven Big Oil, supermajor oil companies. Its businesses ...
and the American company
Unocal Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...
, operating in the country. During explorations in 2008, Daewoo found one of the largest gas fields in
southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, the Shwe offshore field, in the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
, about 100 km off
Sittwe Sittwe (; ; formerly Akyab) is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe, pronounced ''sait-tway'' in the Rakhine language, is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emptyi ...
. The field went into production in 2013.


Corporations

Daewoo Group had under its umbrella several major corporations: *
Daewoo Electronics Winia Electronics, formerly named Daewoo Electronics, is a South Korean home appliances company and a member of South Korean Winia Group. Established in 1971, it has since grown into a global business with more than 64 production sites, research ...
, a strong force both internationally and in South Korea (sub-branch Daewoo Electronic Components Co. Ltd, Daewoo Electric Motor Industries Ltd., Orion Electric Co. Ltd.) * Daewoo Electronic Components manufactures and sells a variety of electronic parts and components, especially for automobile, televisions, monitors, VHS Players and other multimedia products. *
Daewoo Motors Daewoo Motors ( ) was a South Korean automotive company established in 1937 as "National Motors". The company changed its name several times until 1982 when it became "Daewoo Motors" following its acquisition by the Daewoo Group. After running ...
, the motor vehicles division (sub-branch Daewoo Automotive Components Co. Ltd., Daewoo Bus Co., Ltd., Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Co. Ltd.) *
Daewoo Motor Sales Zyle Motors (formerly, Daewoo Motor Sales, ) is an auto sales company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It was established in 1991. Daewoo Motor Sales operates dealerships in South Korea which sell buses from Zyle Daewoo Commercial Vehicle (for ...
, an auto sales company sold Daewoo but also GM cars and others in South Korea (Sub-branch: Architectural Iaan Div., SAA-Seoul Auto Auction) *
Daewoo Bus Zyle Daewoo Bus, formerly "Zyle Daewoo Commercial Vehicle" is a South Korean manufacturer of buses and is majority owned by Young-An Hat Company, based in Busan. It was established in 2002 as a successor to previous merger, Daewoo Motor Company ...
, is a manufacturer of buses. headquartered in Busan, South Korea, established in 2002. These buses are primarily used for public transportation * Daewoo Precision Industries produced small calibre firearms, auto parts and pianos. It was spun off in February 2002 and relisted on the South Korean stock-market in March 2002. It was renamed S&T Daewoo Co., Ltd in September 2006, and then
S&T Motiv SNT Motiv Co., Ltd (formerly S&T Motiv and previously Daewoo Precision Industries/S&T Daewoo) is a South Korean firearms and auto parts manufacturer founded in 1981. Its firearms equip most frontline units of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. ...
Co., LTD in March 2012. *Daewoo Textile Co. Ltd. *
Daewoo Heavy Industries Doosan Enerbility Co., Ltd., formerly known as Doosan Heavy Industries, is a heavy industrial company headquartered in Changwon, South Korea. It was established in 1962. Its business includes manufacturing and construction of nuclear power p ...
(DHI), which created heavy duty machinery *
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd ( ko, 대우조선해양; abbreviated DSME) is one of the "Big Three" shipbuilders of South Korea, along with Hyundai and Samsung. History On 21 February 2011, the A. P. Moller-Maersk Group (M ...
produced container ships, oil tankers and planes. It spun off in 2000 and became an independent company, DSME, re-listing on the South Korean stock-market in 2001 *
Daewoo Securities Mirae Asset Securities Co., Ltd. () is the largest investment banking and stock brokerage company by market capitalization in South Korea. Mirae Asset Securities has been merged with Daewoo Securities as the end of December 2016. Overview Mira ...
, a financial securities company * Daewoo Telecom Ltd., which concentrated on the telecommunications (sub-branch Daewoo Informations Systems Co. Ltd.) * Daewoo Corporation, (sub-branch Daewoo Construction, Keangnam Enterprises) which built highways, dams and skyscrapers, especially in the Middle East and Africa * Daewoo International, a trading organization * Daewoo Development Co. Ltd., managing Daewoo hotels around the world and had the
Millennium Seoul Hilton Millennium Hilton Seoul is a luxury hotel in Seoul, part of Hilton Hotels & Resorts. The hotel opened in 1983 as the Seoul Hilton and is located at 50 Sowol-ro, Jung-gu, in the central business and shopping district in downtown Seoul. The hote ...
franchise in South Korea * IAE (Institute for Advanced Engineering): research and development integrated center A further subsidiary was the Daewoo Development Company, funded by cash from the Group and set up to develop hotels. Seven were built in South Korea, China, Vietnam, and Africa. They were personally designed and furnished by Kim Woo-jung's socialite wife Heeja, who was chairwoman of the company. The most lavish is the 5-star Hanoi Daewoo Hotel, which cost
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
163 million to build in 1996 and was decorated by Heeja with fine art, porcelain, sculptures, and marble. She invited 3,000 guests to the opening, including Russian President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
. Kim is believed to have spent time there while "on the run".


Daewoo Motor Co., Ltd.

Daewoo Motor Co., Ltd. was founded when the Daewoo Group purchased Saehan Motor in 1978, but the Daewoo Motor name did not appear until 1983. The Daewoo Motor brand appeared in the UK in 1995. At the time, it was the only manufacturer not using traditional dealerships – it owned and operated its own retail network. It was once considered to be among the top 10 motor companies in terms of production. Due to financial trouble, Daewoo's automotive arm, Daewoo Motors, was sold to
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
(Korean) in 2001. The Daewoo nameplate continued in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
and
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
until 2011. The former Daewoo facilities are now producing General Motors vehicles for Asian markets. Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Division was sold to
Tata Motors Tata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company, headquartered in Mumbai, India, which is part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses. Formerly known as Tata En ...
.


The Daewoo brand today

As of September 2022, companies that remain with the "Daewoo" brand name are: *
Daewoo E&C Daewoo Engineering & Construction (Hangul: 대우건설 Hanja: 大宇建設, ) is a Korean construction company founded and established in 1973, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. The previous company name was Daewoo Construction Co, Ltd. Its ...
- Specializing in construction *
Daewoo Express Daewoo Express is an inter-city common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 60 destinations in Pakistan. Its headquarters are in Lahore. History A timeline of the operations and beginnings of Daewoo Express Ltd: * December 1997 - incorpor ...
- Inter-city
common carrier A common carrier in common law countries (corresponding to a public carrier in some civil law systems,Encyclopædia Britannica CD 2000 "Civil-law public carrier" from "carriage of goods" usually called simply a ''carrier'') is a person or compan ...
of passengers by bus serving over 60 destinations in Pakistan. *
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd ( ko, 대우조선해양; abbreviated DSME) is one of the "Big Three" shipbuilders of South Korea, along with Hyundai and Samsung. History On 21 February 2011, the A. P. Moller-Maersk Group (M ...
(DSME) - Specializing in shipbuilding *
Tata Daewoo Tata Daewoo (officially Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company) is a commercial vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea and a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors. It is the second-largest heavy commercial vehic ...
- Specializing in commercial vehicles, wholly owned by
Tata Motors Tata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company, headquartered in Mumbai, India, which is part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses. Formerly known as Tata En ...
of India * Zyle Daewoo Bus - Specializing in buses


See also

*
Chaebol A chaebol (, ; ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exc ...
*
Economy of South Korea The economy of South Korea is a highly developed mixed economy. By nominal GDP, it has the 5th largest economy in Asia and the 13th largest in the world. South Korea is notable for its rapid economic development from an underdeveloped nati ...
*
List of South Korean companies A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...


References


External links

* (archived, 2 Feb 1999)
Daewoo Global Management Institute
{{Authority control Chaebol Defunct manufacturing companies of South Korea Conglomerate companies established in 1967 Conglomerate companies disestablished in 1999 1999 disestablishments in South Korea Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Consumer electronics brands South Korean brands Car brands South Korean companies established in 1967 Electronics companies established in 1967 Manufacturing companies established in 1967