Daewoo the world. Throughout this period, Daewoo experienced great success at turning around faltering companies in Korea. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Daewoo Group also produced consumer electronics, computers, telecommunication products, construction equipment, buildings, and musical instruments (Daewoo Piano). Daewoo Group ran into deep financial trouble in 1998 due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis, increasingly thin relationships with the Korean government under President Kim Dae Jung, and its own poor financial management. With the Korean government in deficit, access to cheap and nearly unlimited credit was severely restricted. In 1998, when the economic crisis forced most of the
Daewoo LeMans while the three-door was called Daewoo Racer and only the sedan was called LeMans. Korean market cars received a 1.5-litre engine (with ) as there was a severe tax penalty for cars with larger engines. In October 1991 the LeMans received a facelift, with a reworked front and superficially changed taillights. This version was called the Asüna SE/GT in the Canadian market, where it replaced the Passport Optima. When South Korean production of the original LeMans finally came to an end in February 1997, over 1 million had been built. This car was sold in Australia as the "Daewoo 1.5i",