Hyundai Group in the context of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group

The Miracle on the Han River (Korean: 한강의 기적) was the period of rapid economic growth in South Korea following the Korean War (1950–1953), during which South Korea transformed from an underdeveloped country into a highly developed country.

The rapid reconstruction and development of the South Korean economy during the latter half of the 20th century was accompanied by events such as the country's hosting of the 1988 Summer Olympics and its co-hosting of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, as well as the ascension of family-owned conglomerates known as chaebols, such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai. This growth also encompassed declines in child mortality and increases in life expectancy. South Korea during this period has been described as "corporatist" or as practicing state capitalism. This period of growth was overseen by the Democratic Republican Party (DRP), a conservative, broadly state capitalist and nationalist party.

A chaebol (UK: /ˈtʃeɪbəl, ˈtʃeɪbɒl/ CHAY-bəl, CHAY-bol, US: /ˈtʃeɪboʊl, ˈdʒɛbəl/ CHAY-bohl, JEB-əl; Korean: 재벌 [tɕɛbɔɭ] , lit. 'rich family' or 'financial clique') is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group. Several dozen large South Korean family-controlled corporate groups fall under this definition. The term first appeared in English text in 1972.

Chaebol have also played a significant role in South Korean politics. In 1988, a member of a chaebol family, Chung Mong-joon, president of Hyundai Heavy Industries, successfully ran for the National Assembly of South Korea. Other business leaders were also chosen to be members of the National Assembly through proportional representation. Hyundai has made efforts in the thawing of North Korean relations, despite some controversy. Many South Korean family-run chaebol have been criticised for low dividend payouts and other governance practices that favor controlling shareholders at the expense of ordinary investors.

Park Chung Hee (Korean: 박정희; [pak̚.tɕ͈ʌŋ.çi] ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until his assassination in 1979. His regime oversaw a period of intense economic growth and transformation, making Park one of the most consequential leaders in Korean history, although his legacy as a military dictator remains a bitter subject.

Before his presidency, Park was the second-highest-ranking officer in the South Korean army. His coup brought an end to the interim Second Republic of Korea. After serving for two years as chairman of the military junta, he was elected president in 1963, ushering in the Third Republic. A firm anti-communist, he continued to maintain close ties with the United States, which had maintained a large Army garrison in the country since the end of the Korean War. He supported American military involvement in Southeast Asia, and sent South Korean troops to fight in Vietnam soon after seizing power. Park began a series of economic reforms that eventually led to rapid and unprecedented economic growth and industrialization, a phenomenon that is now known as the Miracle on the Han River. This made South Korea one of the fastest growing economies of the 1960s and 1970s, albeit with costs to labor rights. This era also saw the formation of chaebols: family companies supported by the state similar to the Japanese zaibatsu. Examples of significant chaebols include Hyundai, LG, and Samsung.

The Hyundai Motor Group (HMG; IPA: [ˈhjəːndɛ]; stylized as HYUNDAI) is a South Korean chaebol (loosely similar to a multinational conglomerate but without a central holding company or ownership structure) headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

The HMG also refers to the group of affiliated companies interconnected by complex shareholding arrangements, with Hyundai Motor Company regarded as the de facto representative of the group. It is the third-largest South Korean chaebol, after Samsung and SK Group, related to other Hyundai-name industries following a specialized development split and restructuring which resulted in the creation of Hyundai Motor Group, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, Hyundai Development Company Group, Hyundai Department Store Group, and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance.