Daewoo moved into the construction industry, helping to make the new village movement, which was a part of Korea's rural development program. The company was also able to capitalize on the emergent markets in the Middle East and within Africa. Daewoo was given its GTC designation during this time. The government of South Korea offered major investment assistance to the company in the form of subsidized loans. The competing nations were angered by South Korea's strict import controls, but the government knew that, unaided, the chaebols would never survive the global recession caused by the 1970's oil crisis. Protectionist policies were required to make certain that the economy continued to grow.
Even though the government felt that Samsung and Hyundai had the better expertise in heavy engineering, Daewoo was forced into shipbuilding by the government. Okpo, the biggest dockyard within the globe was not a responsibility that Kim was wanting. He stated lots of times that the government of Korea was stifling his entrepreneurial instinct by forcing him to carry out actions based on duty instead of profit. In spite of his reluctance, Kim was able to turn Daewoo Shipbuilding and Heavy Machinery into a really profitable company producing oil rigs and ships that are competitively priced on a tight production schedule. This took place during the 1980s when the economy in South Korea was going through a liberalization stage.
During this period, the government relaxed its protectionist measures and encouraged the existence of medium- and small-sized businesses. Daewoo was forced to rid two of its important textile companies, and its shipbuilding industry faced stiffer competition from overseas. The government's goal was to shift to a free market economy by encouraging a more efficient allocation of resources. Such a policy was meant to make the chaebols more aggressive in their worldwide dealings. Nonetheless, the new economic conditions caused some chaebols to fail. Amongst Daewoo's competitors, the Kukje Group, went into liquidation in 1985. The shift of government favour to small private companies was meant to spread the wealth which had previously been concentrated in Seoul and Pusan, Korea's industrial centers.