DeepSeek Faces South Korean Probe Over Unauthorized Data Sharing
South Korea’s Data Privacy Crackdown
South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has accused Chinese AI startup DeepSeek of transferring user data without consent, violating the country’s strict privacy regulations.
The allegations, announced on April 18, 2025, center on DeepSeek’s operations during its January launch in South Korea, when its AI chatbot app transmitted personal information and user prompts to entities in China and the United States without user approval.
The app was removed from South Korean app stores in February, pending a privacy review.
Nam Seok, director of the PIPC’s investigation bureau, stated, “DeepSeek acknowledged it had insufficiently considered Korea’s data protection laws” and “expressed its willingness to cooperate with the commission, and voluntarily suspended new downloads.”
The PIPC revealed that user inputs, device details, and network information were sent to Beijing-based Volcano Engine Technology Co. Ltd., raising significant privacy concerns.
DeepSeek’s Response and Global Fallout
DeepSeek claimed the data transfers were intended to improve user experience and ceased the practice by April 10, 2025. However, the company has not issued a public statement addressing the allegations, leaving questions about its data handling practices unanswered.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended its stance on data privacy, with spokesperson Guo Jiakun asserting, “We have never – and will never – require companies or individuals to collect or store data through illegal means.”
The controversy has reverberated internationally.
Taiwan banned DeepSeek’s chatbot in public sectors in February 2025, citing risks from cross-border data transmission and political bias in responses to sensitive questions, such as Taiwan’s status.
Similarly, U.S. agencies, including the Navy and NASA, have advised against using DeepSeek due to national security concerns over overseas data storage.
Japanese officials also expressed unease after the AI’s responses aligned with Chinese territorial claims.
A Rising Star Under Pressure
Founded in 2023, DeepSeek gained prominence with its DeepSeek-R1 model, which reportedly rivaled OpenAI’s offerings at a fraction of the cost.
Its January 2025 app store success in the U.S. underscored its potential to challenge Silicon Valley giants.
However, the ongoing privacy scandal threatens to undermine its meteoric rise, highlighting broader concerns about data security and ethics in AI development.