On Thursday, South Korea’s Ministry of Environment joined other government agencies in blocking access to the Chinese AI service DeepSeek, citing concerns over user data collection.
The block, which began at 9 a.m., was applied only to DeepSeek, while other generative AI services like OpenAI and ChatGPT were not restricted.
A ministry official explained that intelligence authorities had advised caution in using DeepSeek, as its personal information collection practices remain unclear.
Following a directive from the interior ministry earlier in the week, which urged ministries and local governments to exercise caution with generative AI services, several other government departments—including the foreign, trade, defense, and finance ministries—have also blocked access to DeepSeek. State-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and the defense ministry have also restricted its use.
The foreign ministry has limited access to DeepSeek on computers connected to external networks, though it has not provided specific details on security measures.
The move reflects growing concerns globally, as countries like Australia and Taiwan have also banned DeepSeek over security risks. Italy’s data protection authority ordered the company to block its chatbot in January due to privacy issues.
South Korea’s privacy watchdog plans to investigate how DeepSeek manages user data, while major tech companies like Kakao Corp, SK Hynix, and Naver are also restricting access to generative AI services due to security concerns.
