Autonomous governance system for local government was briefly instituted in 1948, right after the government of the Republic of Korea was established, but went dormant for nearly half a century before it was revived by nationwide local elections in 1995. Before then local governments were under the control of the central government and therefore had no autonomy over their administrative policies and budgets. However, powered by the Korean people's fervent desire for true democracy, the local self-governing system was firmly established in 1995 to allow local governments to shape the present and future of their communities. Despite its short history, Korea’s local self-governing system had powered democratization and now fully autonomous local governments of Korea are leading their communities toward a better tomorrow.