Leading companies, including Samsung, SK Group, and LG Electronics, have reinforced cybersecurity measures by blocking access to external generative AI tools.
Kakao and LG Uplus have prohibited employees from using DeepSeek for work-related tasks.
The decisions follows a broader government directive issued on Tuesday by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which urged central government agencies and 17 regional administrative bodies to exercise caution when using generative AI, including DeepSeek and ChatGPT.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy implemented restrictions on Wednesday.
State-run enterprises are also aligning with the government’s stance. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and KEPCO Plant Service & Engineering recently announced internal bans on DeepSeek usage, reinforcing a national effort to safeguard sensitive information.
“Multiple technical concerns have been raised both domestically and internationally regarding DeepSeek, prompting us to block access on military-use internet PCs,” the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.
DeepSeek has come under increasing scrutiny worldwide due to its extensive data collection practices, including the tracking of users’ keyboard input patterns for purported training purposes.
Fears of information leaks through DeepSeek are growing globally.
Australia, Taiwan, and the U.S. state of Texas have implemented bans on its usage for government devices, while Italy has gone a step further, blocking downloads of DeepSeek from mobile app stores.
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