Major private and state-owned companies in South Korea are banning the use of the Chinese chatbot DeepSeek due to concerns over data security, Yonhap reports.
IT giant Kakao, an OpenAI partner, became the first major South Korean company to officially prohibit employees from using DeepSeek for work purposes. Following suit, telecom operator LG Uplus imposed similar restrictions, while the state-owned corporation KHNP banned the use of DeepSeek from February 1, alongside ChatGPT.
DeepSeek collects user data, including IP addresses and text input patterns, storing them on servers in China, raising security concerns in South Korea. Companies such as Samsung, SK, and LG Electronics have long relied on their own AI models and prohibit external services on corporate devices.
A Wiz Research study uncovered a vulnerability in DeepSeek—an open server containing a million records, including chat histories and secret keys. Experts warn that using the chatbot could lead to leaks of work-related and personal data, posing financial and reputational risks.
Meanwhile, Naver is considering blocking DeepSeek, but no final decision has been made yet.
