Daewoo expanded into the construction business, helping a development program for rural Korea, the new village movement. The corporation also took advantage of the growing Middle Eastern and African markets. Daewoo received its GTC designation during this time. Major investment help was provided by the South Korean government to the corporation in the form of subsidized loans. The competing countries were angered by the strict import controls of South Korea, but the government knew that, without help, the chaebols will never survive the global recession caused by the 1970's oil crisis. 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 expertise in heavy engineering, Daewoo was forced into shipbuilding by the government. Okpo, the largest dockyard in the world was not a responsibility which Kim was wanting. He said many times that the Korean government was stifling his entrepreneurial instinct by forcing him to carry out actions based on duty instead of revenue. In spite of his unwillingness, Kim was able to turn Daewoo Shipbuilding and Heavy Machinery into a very successful corporation making ships and oil rigs that are competitively priced on a tight production timetable. This happened in the 1980s when the economy in South Korea was experiencing a liberalization stage.
The government during this time was lessening its protectionist measures that helped to fuel the rise of small businesses 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 government's goal was to shift to a free market economy by encouraging a more effective allocation of resources. Such a policy was intended to make the chaebols more aggressive in their worldwide dealings. Nevertheless, the new economic conditions caused some chaebols to fail. The Kukje Group, amongst the competitors of Daewoo, went into bankruptcy during 1985. The shift of government favour to small private companies was intended to spread the wealth that had previously been concentrated in Korea's industrial centers, Seoul and Pusan.