South Korea bans DeepSeek downloads from local App Stores

South Korean authorities temporarily suspended the download of DeepSeek through local App Stores after security concerns regarding personal user data were raised. The Personal Information Protection Commission launched investigations into DeepSeek after the recent release of its 1.31 version. 

The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC)’s report disclosed that downloading DeepSeek will resume after the scheduled improvements and supplements are made. According to the PIPC, DeepSeek update(s) will be guided by the Personal Information Protection Act. DeepSeek also designated a domestic agent last week and expressed its intention to actively cooperate in ensuring compliance.

PIPC’s analysis identified shortcomings in communication functions and personal information processing policies with third-party businesses. The DeepSeek development team acknowledged that it was not familiar with South Korea’s privacy laws when it launched its service. The PIPC report claimed that all the third-parties involved were published in domestic and international media. 

PIPC estimates that DeepSeek ‘corrections’ may take longer than projected 

#BREAKING South Korea blocks downloads of DeepSeek from local app stores#Southkorea #DeepSeek

— Dr. Amarendra Bhushan Dhiraj (@ceoworld) February 17, 2025

PIPC recommended the temporary suspension of DeepSeek downloads, citing data privacy concerns. Nam Seok, the director of the South Korean commission’s investigation division, advised DeepSeek users in the country to delete the app from their devices or avoid entering personal information until the issues were fixed. 

The commission revealed that the DeepSeek upgrade could take longer than expected if done in accordance with the Protection Act.

A government-issued notice cautioned South Korean agencies and ministries against using DeepSeek, among other AI services. The State-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and the defense ministry also revealed that they had blocked the use of DeepSeek. The foreign minister further restricted access to DeepSeek in computers that connect to external networks. The ministry pointed out that it could not verify some of the specific security measures in DeepSeek. However, CEO World executive Dr. Amarendra Dhiraj mentioned that the ban did not affect users who had already downloaded DeepSeek on their phones or used it on personal computers. 

The PIPC asserted that it planned to closely inspect the personal information processing status of DeepSeek service during the suspension period to improve compliance with the protection law. The commission also said that it was promoting the revision of the law to establish special provisions for AI in the protection law. PIPC added that revising the law would strengthen enforcement power for businesses so that AI utilization and personal information protection could be balanced. The agency confirmed that DeepSeek had transferred the data of South Korean users to the parent company of TikTok, ByteDance.

South Korea joins other nations in banning DeepSeek over security issues

According to Reuters, the ban made South Korea the latest government after Taiwan and Australia to warn about or place restrictions on DeepSeek. In January, the data protection authority in Italy ordered DeepSeek to block its chatbot in the country after the Chinese startup failed to address the regulator’s concerns over its privacy policy. The U.S., India, and other European governments were also analyzing the implications of using DeepSeek. 

Kakao Corp, a South Korean chat app operator, told its employees to avoid using DeepSeek only a day after partnering with OpenAI. The DeepSeek team, however, said its AI models were on a par with or better than products developed in the U.S. and were comparatively cheaper to produce. 

DeepSeek is planning to strengthen the cooperation between major countries’ supervisory organizations established as a result of the response to the AI chatbot’s security issues. PIPC claimed that the multinational collaboration would be made more concrete through the GPA (Global Privacy Assembly) to be held in Seoul in September of this year. The GPA comprises 148 organizations from 95 countries, including South Korea, the U.S., the European Union, and Japan.

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