February 7, 2025
SEOUL – Government agencies and major companies in South Korea are rushing to block access to Chinese artificial intelligence service DeepSeek, amid concerns about user data collection.
The move comes after the Ministry of the Interior and Safety issued a warning on Tuesday, advising central government agencies and 17 provincial governments to be cautious when using AI-based generative services like DeepSeek. Following this advisory, an increasing number of ministries have begun blocking access.
The Foreign, Trade and Defense ministries imposed access restrictions on DeepSeek later Wednesday, while the Finance Ministry is set to follow suit.
“We are reviewing measures to ban access due to concerns over technology leaks,” an official from the Finance Ministry said.
With the Environment Ministry joining the ban Thursday, restrictions have expanded beyond security and economic bodies to social bodies as well. It suggests a broader government-wide effort to curb potential risks associated with the increasingly popular AI tools.
The National Tax Service, in particular, has banned access to OpenAI’s ChatGPT since June 2023, soon after its beta version debut following an advisory from the National Intelligence Service.
“We considered the data security issues to be greater than the practical benefits of using generative AI to improve administrative service,” said an official from the tax agency.
On the business front, IT giant Kakao prohibited the use of DeepSeek for business purposes Tuesday, becoming the first major tech company to do so. Telecom LG Uplus implemented a similar policy earlier Wednesday.
Other major tech companies, including Samsung Electronics, SK Group and LG Electronics, which are all developing their own generative AI services, have banned such programs on company computers without prior authorization.
Korean Air has blocked internal access to both DeepSeek and ChatGPT, while Asiana Airlines has imposed a blanket restriction on internal access to generative AI services. Lotte Group has also restricted direct access to AI sites such as DeepSeek, ChatGPT and Gemini to protect internal information.
The financial sector is also joining the movement to block DeepSeek.
The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service restricted access to DeepSeek from computers with external connectivity starting Thursday.
The Deposit Insurance Corp., the Korea Housing Finance Corp. and Korea Asset Management Corp., along with other affiliated financial institutions, have also received related official documents from financial authorities and are joining the move to block access.
The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea preemptively blocked access to DeepSeek on Jan. 31, even before receiving a formal government request. The Industrial Bank of Korea has also banned the use of DeepSeek on both internal and external networks. Similarly, the Korea Development Bank has restricted access to DeepSeek.
Private financial institutions are likewise taking steps to block DeepSeek.
Five major banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH Nonghyup — have completely banned the use of DeepSeek on both internal and external networks. Internet-only banks Toss and KakaoBank have also restricted access.
Among credit card companies, KB Kookmin has blocked access, while in the securities sector, Hanwha Investment and Securities, IBK Investment and Securities, IM Securities, and Toss Securities have also prohibited access to DeepSeek.
DeepSeek has drawn significant attention since its release last month, impressing industry experts with its high performance at relatively low cost when compared to competing services.
Concerns over its security and data management practices, however, have led multiple countries to scrutinize and impose restrictions on the service.
Last month, Italy became the first country in the world to issue a ban on DeepSeek, blocking downloads of the app within its territory. Taiwan and Australia have also prohibited public sector employees from using DeepSeek.
Experts praise Korea for implementing restrictions on DeepSeek at an appropriate time, following global concerns over excessive personal data collection. Furthermore, some even voice a complete ban on DeepSeek, similar to the TikTok case in the US.
“ChatGPT has already been restricted in some companies and DeepSeek is no exception. Just as the US is banning TikTok, Korea is also paying close attention to the issue from a data sovereignty perspective,” said Lee Sung-yeop, a professor at Korea University’s Graduate School of Management of Technology.
“DeepSeek lacks strict data regulations, allowing data collection without prior user consent. Given that regions like Europe and Korea require explicit consent for personal data collection, it seems inevitable that ministries and companies in these regions would impose restrictions on its use,” he added.
Despite the technical concerns, the number of weekly users of the DeepSeek app in Korea has surpassed 1.2 million, ranking it second among generative AI apps after ChatGPT with 4.93 million users.