Daewoo moved into the construction business, helping to create the new village movement, that was a part of Korea's rural development program. The corporation was also able to take advantage of the emergent markets in the Middle East and within Africa. Daewoo received its GTC designation during this time. The government of South Korea provided major investment help 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, independently, the chaebols would never endure the world recession caused by the oil crisis during the 1970s. Protectionist policies were essential to ensure that the economy continued to grow.
Even though the government felt that both Samsung and Hyundai had the better expertise in heavy engineering, Daewoo was forced into shipbuilding by the government. Okpo, the biggest dockyard within the world was not a responsibility that Kim was wanting. He said numerous times that the Korean government was stifling his entrepreneurial instinct by forcing him to undertake actions based on responsibility instead of earnings. In spite of his unwillingness, Kim was able to turn Daewoo Shipbuilding and Heavy Machinery into a profitable company making ships and oil rigs that are competitively priced on a tight production schedule. This happened in the 1980s when South Korea's economy was going through a liberalization stage.
The government in this time was lessening its protectionist measures which helped to fuel the rise of small companies and medium-sized businesses. Daewoo had to divest two of its textile corporations at this time and the shipbuilding business was starting to attract more foreign competition. The objective of the government was to shift to a free market economy by encouraging a more effective allocation of resources. Such a policy was meant to make the chaebols more aggressive in their international dealings. However, the new economic climate caused some chaebols to fail. The Kukje Group, one of Daewoo's competitors, went into bankruptcy in the year 1985. The shift of government favour to small private businesses was meant to spread the wealth that had previously been concentrated within Korea's industrial centers, Seoul and Pusan.