South Korea joins global crackdown on DeepSeek over security fears

South Korea’s industry ministry has temporarily banned employee access to Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek, as concerns mount globally about the security implications of the AI service.

The ministry issued a notice on Tuesday urging government departments and agencies to exercise caution when using AI services including DeepSeek and ChatGPT in the workplace, according to ministry officials.

“DeepSeek has emerged as a fresh shock, which could reshape the global industrial landscape,” said acting president Choi Sang-mok during a ministerial meeting. “A Chinese company recently unveiled its AI model, DeepSeek R1, to deliver high performance at a low cost. This has come as a fresh shock.”

The ban has already been implemented by several South Korean entities, with state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power blocking access to AI services including DeepSeek earlier this month. The foreign ministry has also restricted DeepSeek access on computers connected to external networks.

Major South Korean companies have followed suit, with tech giant Kakao Corp instructing employees to avoid using DeepSeek due to security concerns. SK Hynix, a manufacturer of AI chips, has limited access to generative AI services, while internet company Naver has requested employees not to use AI services that store data outside the company.

The South Korean government plans to launch a 34 trillion won ($23.4 billion) fund through the state-run Korea Development Bank to support cutting-edge technologies, including AI and semiconductor advancement.

Australia has taken similar measures, with government envoy Andrew Charlton stating: “DeepSeek represented an unacceptable risk to Australia’s national security. And for that reason, we took action similar to a number of other jurisdictions around the world to ban deep seek on Australian government devices.”

The restrictions come as DeepSeek’s latest AI models, launched last month, garnered significant attention in the tech world. The company claims its models match or exceed US-developed products while being produced at substantially lower costs.

South Korea’s information privacy watchdog has announced plans to question DeepSeek about its management of users’ personal information, as global scrutiny of the Chinese AI service continues to intensify.