Tracing its origins to 1939, by the 1970s it was one of the largest enterprise groups in the country, before disintegrating in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Kim Sung-kon established his first manufacturing business, Samkong Fat Ltd., in his native North Gyeongsang Province in 1939, profiting greatly.

Named for their collective origins in Taegu and Kyongbuk (the spellings of Daegu and North Gyeongsang in the McCune–Reischauer romanization scheme), the TK group were highly influential in implementing Park's industrial policies during the Third Republic of Korea, channeling lucrative government contracts and adopting policies favorable to associates.

[4] Kim made further investments in support of the cement concern, purchasing Samwha Paper to package the cement and founding Kumsung Shipping to deliver it, companies which later became SsangYong Paper Co. and SsangYong Shipping Co. After the 1973 oil crisis, Kim negotiated a joint venture with Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, to build an oil refinery in South Korea.

[10] The younger Kim continued SsangYong's aggressive expansion into new industries including construction, motor vehicles, and securities.

[11] Kim Suk-joon, then chairman, began looking to sell parts of the conglomerate to raise cash, including negotiations with Samsung and later Daewoo for the automotive unit.

This infuriated Kim Suk-won, who resigned from the National Assembly and resumed chairmanship, but the Asian financial collapse made it impossible for the chaebol to refinance their debts, putting the South Korean economy in crisis and leading to a $60 billion IMF bailout.

Late in 1997, SsangYong Motor was sold to rival Daewoo, as Milton pushed Suk-won to sell the securities firm as well.

[10] Daewoo itself would collapse after bankruptcy and a related corruption scandal, and control would pass to a succession of corporate owners until KG Group acquired it in 2022.

Since the aggressive restructuring, the Kim family has continued to run SsangYong E&C, even after its acquisition by the Korea Asset Management Company (KAMCO) in 2002 and subsequent sale to the Investment Corporation of Dubai in 2015.