South Korean Authorities Lift Ban on Chinese AI Application
DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot that was suspended in South Korea earlier this year, is now available for download again after addressing privacy concerns that prompted its initial ban.
The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) of South Korea announced today that
DeepSeek has successfully implemented the necessary changes to comply with the country's Personal Information Protection Act, allowing the service to resume operations in the country.
History of the Suspension
The suspension began on February 15, 2025, when South Korean authorities halted new downloads of DeepSeek's mobile applications due to significant privacy violations and security flaws identified during the PIPC's analysis[1]. While existing users could continue using the application, new downloads were blocked from both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in Korea[4].
According to the investigation completed last week, DeepSeek was found to have transferred users' personal data to Beijing Volcano Engine Technology, a cloud service platform owned by ByteDance (TikTok's parent company), without obtaining proper user consent[2]. The data transfers reportedly included user prompts and interactions with the AI system[4].
Compliance Measures Implemented
To address these concerns, DeepSeek has:
- Revised its data collection and transfer policies to explicitly request user consent before any international data transfers
- Updated its privacy policy to clearly disclose third-party data sharing practices
- Established local data processing infrastructure to reduce dependency on Chinese servers
- Appointed a dedicated data protection officer for South Korean operations
A DeepSeek representative stated, "We have worked diligently to understand and implement South Korea's data protection requirements. Our team has made comprehensive changes to ensure full compliance with local regulations while maintaining the high-quality AI experience our users expect."
Ongoing Monitoring
The PIPC has emphasized that it will continue to monitor
DeepSeek's compliance with Korean privacy laws. The commission has established a specialized AI monitoring team that will conduct regular audits of AI services operating in the country, including both domestic and international providers like
ChatGPT and other generative AI tools.
This incident highlights the growing focus on data privacy and security in the rapidly expanding AI market, particularly for international services operating across different regulatory environments. South Korean authorities have indicated that this case will serve as a precedent for how they approach oversight of AI technologies in the future.
DeepSeek, launched in January 2025, gained rapid popularity worldwide, with tens of millions of downloads in its first few weeks of operation[2]. The company claims its AI models were built using less sophisticated chips than competitors, allowing for lower operating costs while maintaining performance comparable to other leading AI chatbots.
