HomeSouth Korea Halts DeepSeek App Downloads in Local Stores
On Saturday, South Korean officials put a temporary hold on downloads of the Chinese AI Lab DeepSeek's app from app stores in the country. They're doing this while they figure out how the Chinese company deals with user data. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) mentioned that the app can be downloaded again once DeepSeek follows Korean privacy laws and makes the required tweaks.
This restriction won't mess with folks who are already using the app or the web service in South Korea. But, the data protection authority is kinda nudging current users to hold off on entering personal info into DeepSeek until they make their final call.
After DeepSeek rolled out its service in South Korea towards the end of January, the PIPC got in touch with the Chinese AI lab to ask about their data collection and processing methods. They found some issues with DeepSeek's third-party services and privacy policies during their review.
The PICC told TechCrunch that their investigation showed DeepSeek had sent South Korean user data over to ByteDance, which is TikTok's parent company.
DeepSeek hasn't gotten back to us yet about this whole thing.
The agency said that DeepSeek recently got a local rep in South Korea and admitted they weren't up to speed on South Korea's privacy laws when they launched. Last Friday, the Chinese company also said they'd work closely with Korean authorities.
Earlier this month, South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the police, and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, a state-run company, temporarily blocked DeepSeek on their official devices due to security worries.
South Korea isn't the only one being careful about DeepSeek because of its Chinese roots. Australia has banned DeepSeek on government devices for security reasons. Italy's data protection authority, the Garante, told DeepSeek to block its chatbot in the country, and Taiwan has stopped government departments from using DeepSeek AI.
DeepSeek, based in Hangzhou and founded by Liang Feng in 2023, launched DeepSeek R1, a free, open-source reasoning AI model that's going head-to-head with OpenAI's ChatGPT.
> DeepSeek: The countries and agencies that have banned the AI company’s tech
Related article
Nvidia H200 China deal survives Trump-Xi summit, but not as expected
President Trump traveled to Beijing with Jensen Huang joining the delegation at the eleventh hour, departing two days later with vague remarks about potential chip export developments. No deal materialized. Since Trump first authorized sales in Decem
Alibaba, DeepSeek Drive China’s AI Model Race to Lower Costs
Alibaba has introduced Qwen3.8-Max, its most powerful AI model yet, as DeepSeek’s new V4-Flash gains attention for offering inference pricing lower than several competitors.With 2.4 trillion parameters, Qwen3.8-Max employs a mixture-of-experts archit
DeepSeek Unveils AI Model Rivaling Frontier Systems
Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has released two preview versions of its latest large language model, DeepSeek V4, a highly anticipated update to last year's V3.2 model and the accompanying R1 reasoning model that made a significant impact in the AI communit
Related Special Topic Recommendations
Design & Art
Top AI Illustration Tools: Create Editorial Scenes and Cover Art Faster
2026 Latest Top-rated AI Illustration Tools: Our curated list features the best powerfully designed tools for creating stunning editorial scenes and eye-catching cover art quickly. Each option has gone through rigorous real-world tests, offering a free vs paid comparison to help you find the perfect match for your workflow. Try these must-try solutions today to unlock your AI edge and boost your creative productivity. Explore now at XIX.AI.
10 tools
xix.ai
Education and Learning
Top AI Tutors for Exam Prep: Practice Math, Science, and English
2026 Latest Top-Rated Best AI Tutors for Exam Prep are here on XIX.AI! Our curated list features powerful game-changing tools that offer free vs paid comparison, real-world tests, and weekly updated rankings. They help boost your writing efficiency, simplify complex topic learning, and unlock your academic potential. Explore now to Discover your perfect exam prep tool and Start creating today to Unlock your AI edge!
10 tools
xix.ai
Finance
AI Budget Planning Tools for Personal Money Management
2026 Latest Best Top-Rated AI Budget Planning Tools for Personal Money Management are here on XIX.AI! This curated collection features powerful, game-changing solutions that help you conduct real-world tests, understand spending habits, and create personalized plans to boost productivity. Enjoy a free vs paid comparison along with detailed rankings. Must-try tools designed to simplify money management and unlock your AI edge. Explore now!
11 tools
xix.ai
Health & Wellness
AI Sleep Tracking Assistants: Improve Recovery with Better Bedtime Habits
2026 Latest Best Top-Rated AI Sleep Tracking Assistants curated for ultimate recovery. This fully updated weekly guide features powerful tools that deliver real-world tests, free vs paid comparison, and detailed rankings to help you find the must-try solution that boosts sleep quality and supports better bedtime habits. Explore now at XIX.AI to Unlock your AI edge.
10 tools
xix.ai
Data Analysis
AI SQL Copilots for Product and Revenue Analytics
2026 Latest Best Top-Rated AI SQL Copilots for Product and Revenue Analytics! XIX.AI has curated a powerful, game-changing collection of must-try tools that undergo real-world tests through weekly updated rankings. These tools help users boost productivity significantly by accelerating data analysis, streamlining complex queries, and generating accurate insights to drive smarter business decisions. Explore now to Discover your perfect tool for unlocking your AI edge!
14 tools
xix.ai
Education and Learning
Best AI Homework Helpers That Teach: Learn Concepts, Not Just Answers
2026 Latest Best Top-Rated AI Homework Helpers That Teach Core Concepts Not Just Answers Powerful Tools for Students Must-Try Curated List Weekly Updated Free vs Paid Comparison Real-World Tests Accurate Rankings to Help You Unlock Your Full Learning Potential Explore now to Discover your perfect tool for smarter studying.
10 tools
xix.ai
Comments (47)
0/500
![CharlesScott]()
Interesting move by South Korea. Data privacy is a hot topic everywhere. Wonder how DeepSeek will respond. 🤔
![FrankRoberts]()
Hat jemand einen konkreten Plan, wie man internationale Datenschutzstandards in der KI-Branche wirklich durchsetzen will? Das scheint hier wieder ein rein politisches Spiel zu sein – 'wir prüfen den Datenschutz' klingt oft nach einer Ausrede für handelsprotektionistische Maßnahmen. Die App funktioniert doch woanders problemlos. 🧐
![ArthurCarter]()
Just found out about the DeepSeek app being blocked in South Korea! It's kinda scary how they're worried about user data privacy. Hope they sort it out soon, I was looking forward to trying it out. 😅 Anyone know of similar apps that are safe to use?
![JohnYoung]()
딥시크를 다운로드하려던 찰나에 한국에서의 금지 소식을 들었어요. 사용자 데이터를 어떻게 다루는지 생각하면 좀 무섭네요. 빨리 해결되길 바랍니다, 그 전까지는 손대지 않을 거예요. 안전이 먼저죠? 🛡️
![GaryGonzalez]()
ディープシークのアプリが韓国でダウンロード停止になったのを知って、ちょっとガッカリ。使い始めたばっかりだったのに！他のアプリを探すか、解決を待つしかないね。ユーザーデータの問題、早く解決してほしいな！🤞
![WillLopez]()
한국이 DeepSeek 앱 다운로드를 중단했다고? 좀 아쉽지만, 데이터 프라이버시에 신중한 것뿐이겠지. 빨리 해결되길 바래, 사용해보고 싶었어! 🤔📱
On Saturday, South Korean officials put a temporary hold on downloads of the Chinese AI Lab DeepSeek's app from app stores in the country. They're doing this while they figure out how the Chinese company deals with user data. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) mentioned that the app can be downloaded again once DeepSeek follows Korean privacy laws and makes the required tweaks.
This restriction won't mess with folks who are already using the app or the web service in South Korea. But, the data protection authority is kinda nudging current users to hold off on entering personal info into DeepSeek until they make their final call.
After DeepSeek rolled out its service in South Korea towards the end of January, the PIPC got in touch with the Chinese AI lab to ask about their data collection and processing methods. They found some issues with DeepSeek's third-party services and privacy policies during their review.
The PICC told TechCrunch that their investigation showed DeepSeek had sent South Korean user data over to ByteDance, which is TikTok's parent company.
DeepSeek hasn't gotten back to us yet about this whole thing.
The agency said that DeepSeek recently got a local rep in South Korea and admitted they weren't up to speed on South Korea's privacy laws when they launched. Last Friday, the Chinese company also said they'd work closely with Korean authorities.
Earlier this month, South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the police, and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, a state-run company, temporarily blocked DeepSeek on their official devices due to security worries.
South Korea isn't the only one being careful about DeepSeek because of its Chinese roots. Australia has banned DeepSeek on government devices for security reasons. Italy's data protection authority, the Garante, told DeepSeek to block its chatbot in the country, and Taiwan has stopped government departments from using DeepSeek AI.
DeepSeek, based in Hangzhou and founded by Liang Feng in 2023, launched DeepSeek R1, a free, open-source reasoning AI model that's going head-to-head with OpenAI's ChatGPT.
> DeepSeek: The countries and agencies that have banned the AI company’s tech
Nvidia H200 China deal survives Trump-Xi summit, but not as expected
President Trump traveled to Beijing with Jensen Huang joining the delegation at the eleventh hour, departing two days later with vague remarks about potential chip export developments. No deal materialized. Since Trump first authorized sales in Decem
Alibaba, DeepSeek Drive China’s AI Model Race to Lower Costs
Alibaba has introduced Qwen3.8-Max, its most powerful AI model yet, as DeepSeek’s new V4-Flash gains attention for offering inference pricing lower than several competitors.With 2.4 trillion parameters, Qwen3.8-Max employs a mixture-of-experts archit
DeepSeek Unveils AI Model Rivaling Frontier Systems
Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has released two preview versions of its latest large language model, DeepSeek V4, a highly anticipated update to last year's V3.2 model and the accompanying R1 reasoning model that made a significant impact in the AI communit
2026 Latest Top-rated AI Illustration Tools: Our curated list features the best powerfully designed tools for creating stunning editorial scenes and eye-catching cover art quickly. Each option has gone through rigorous real-world tests, offering a free vs paid comparison to help you find the perfect match for your workflow. Try these must-try solutions today to unlock your AI edge and boost your creative productivity. Explore now at XIX.AI.
10 tools
xix.ai
2026 Latest Top-Rated Best AI Tutors for Exam Prep are here on XIX.AI! Our curated list features powerful game-changing tools that offer free vs paid comparison, real-world tests, and weekly updated rankings. They help boost your writing efficiency, simplify complex topic learning, and unlock your academic potential. Explore now to Discover your perfect exam prep tool and Start creating today to Unlock your AI edge!
10 tools
xix.ai
2026 Latest Best Top-Rated AI Budget Planning Tools for Personal Money Management are here on XIX.AI! This curated collection features powerful, game-changing solutions that help you conduct real-world tests, understand spending habits, and create personalized plans to boost productivity. Enjoy a free vs paid comparison along with detailed rankings. Must-try tools designed to simplify money management and unlock your AI edge. Explore now!
11 tools
xix.ai
2026 Latest Best Top-Rated AI Sleep Tracking Assistants curated for ultimate recovery. This fully updated weekly guide features powerful tools that deliver real-world tests, free vs paid comparison, and detailed rankings to help you find the must-try solution that boosts sleep quality and supports better bedtime habits. Explore now at XIX.AI to Unlock your AI edge.
10 tools
xix.ai
2026 Latest Best Top-Rated AI SQL Copilots for Product and Revenue Analytics! XIX.AI has curated a powerful, game-changing collection of must-try tools that undergo real-world tests through weekly updated rankings. These tools help users boost productivity significantly by accelerating data analysis, streamlining complex queries, and generating accurate insights to drive smarter business decisions. Explore now to Discover your perfect tool for unlocking your AI edge!
14 tools
xix.ai
2026 Latest Best Top-Rated AI Homework Helpers That Teach Core Concepts Not Just Answers Powerful Tools for Students Must-Try Curated List Weekly Updated Free vs Paid Comparison Real-World Tests Accurate Rankings to Help You Unlock Your Full Learning Potential Explore now to Discover your perfect tool for smarter studying.
10 tools
xix.ai
Interesting move by South Korea. Data privacy is a hot topic everywhere. Wonder how DeepSeek will respond. 🤔
Hat jemand einen konkreten Plan, wie man internationale Datenschutzstandards in der KI-Branche wirklich durchsetzen will? Das scheint hier wieder ein rein politisches Spiel zu sein – 'wir prüfen den Datenschutz' klingt oft nach einer Ausrede für handelsprotektionistische Maßnahmen. Die App funktioniert doch woanders problemlos. 🧐
Just found out about the DeepSeek app being blocked in South Korea! It's kinda scary how they're worried about user data privacy. Hope they sort it out soon, I was looking forward to trying it out. 😅 Anyone know of similar apps that are safe to use?
딥시크를 다운로드하려던 찰나에 한국에서의 금지 소식을 들었어요. 사용자 데이터를 어떻게 다루는지 생각하면 좀 무섭네요. 빨리 해결되길 바랍니다, 그 전까지는 손대지 않을 거예요. 안전이 먼저죠? 🛡️
ディープシークのアプリが韓国でダウンロード停止になったのを知って、ちょっとガッカリ。使い始めたばっかりだったのに！他のアプリを探すか、解決を待つしかないね。ユーザーデータの問題、早く解決してほしいな！🤞
한국이 DeepSeek 앱 다운로드를 중단했다고? 좀 아쉽지만, 데이터 프라이버시에 신중한 것뿐이겠지. 빨리 해결되길 바래, 사용해보고 싶었어! 🤔📱
