Transnationalism with Multi-Leveled Actors: A Systematic Review of Studies on Overseas Koreans’ Voting

Abstract

COVID-19 has affected several aspects of people’s lives, including overseas voting by Koreans overseas. Compared to the high national voter turnout for Korea’s 21st legislative elections (62.6%), the voter turnout among overseas Koreans was only 23.8%, the lowest since the inception of overseas voting in 2012. However, no study has systematically reviewed prior studies on overseas voting through the framework of political transnationalism with multilevel actors. By reviewing articles published between 2012 and 2020 that explore overseas Koreans’ voting in their home country’s election, this study aims to categorize studies at different levels and suggest policy implications and future directions for research that could contribute toward filling the gaps in the existing literature. The methods of overseas voting need to be diversified to adequately prepare for any exogenous shocks, such as COVID-19, during the upcoming election periods.