Daewoo moved into the construction industry, helping to create the new village movement, that was a part of the rural development program in Korea. The corporation was also able to take advantage of the growing markets in the Middle East and in Africa. Daewoo received its GTC designation during this time. The South Korean government offered major investment help to the corporation in the form of subsidized loans. South Korea's strict import controls angered competing nations, but the government knew that, without help, the chaebols will never survive the global recession caused by the oil crisis in the 1970s. Protectionist policies were essential to ensure that the economy continued to grow.
Even if the government felt that both Hyundai and Samsung had the better skill in heavy engineering, Daewoo was forced into shipbuilding by the government. Okpo, the largest dockyard within the globe was not a responsibility that Kim was wanting. He stated many times that the Korean government was stifling his entrepreneurial instinct by forcing him to carry out actions based on duty instead of earnings. Despite his unwillingness, Kim was able to turn Daewoo Shipbuilding and Heavy Machinery into a really successful corporation manufacturing oil rigs and ships that are competitively priced on a tight production schedule. This took place in the 1980s when the economy within South Korea was going through a liberalization stage.
The government during this time was reducing its protectionist measures that helped to fuel the rise of small companies and medium-sized companies. Daewoo had to rid two of its textile companies at this time and the shipbuilding industry was starting to attract more foreign competition. The government's goal was to shift to a free market economy by encouraging a more efficient allocation of resources. Such a policy was intended to make the chaebols more aggressive in their international dealings. However, the new economic climate caused some chaebols to fail. The Kukje Group, amongst the competitors of Daewoo, went into liquidation during 1985. The shift of government favour to small private businesses was intended to spread the wealth that had before been concentrated in Korea's industrial centers, Pusan and Seoul.