Daewoo

Daewoo
Company typeChaebol
Founded22 March 1967; 57 years ago (1967-03-22)
FounderKim Woo-choong
Defunct1 November 1999; 25 years ago (1999-11-01)
FateDeclared bankruptcy (see details)
HeadquartersSeoul, South Korea
Number of employees
320,000[1][2]
Divisions
Subsidiaries
Korean name
Hangul
대우
Hanja
Revised RomanizationDaeu
McCune–ReischauerTaeu

Daewoo (UK: /ˈd./ DAY-oo; US: /ˌdˈw/ day-WOO; Korean대우; Hanja大宇; IPA: [tɛ.u]; 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 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 $91 billion in 2023). Prior to the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Daewoo was the second largest conglomerate in South Korea after the Hyundai Group and behind Lucky-Goldstar (later became LG Corporation). There were about 20 divisions under the Daewoo Group, some of which survived as independent companies.