The National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety issued security guidelines to all government ministries on Feb. 4, specifically warning against inputting confidential internal information or personal data into AI chatbots, including Chinese-made DeepSeek, which have not undergone security verification.
Officials say the measure stems from concerns that these AI tools could become conduits for leaking sensitive national information.
State-owned energy companies, including Korea Midland Power and Korea East-West Power, have received instructions to exercise caution when accessing AI chatbots. Major utilities like Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. implemented access restrictions on AI tools immediately after the Lunar New Year holidays, which ended Friday.
"Given that we handle sensitive information such as national energy prices and supply, we cannot risk information leaks through AI chatbots," a Korea Gas official said.
"We currently operate separate internal and external networks, and all types of AI tools are completely blocked."
While similar guidelines were issued when ChatGPT was released in 2023, sources say the current restrictions are more stringent due to specific security threats associated with DeepSeek.
Later in the day, several government ministries were found to have blocked access to DeepSeek.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy have implemented measures restricting access to DeepSeek from computers with external internet connections, according to multiple government sources.
"When attempting to access DeepSeek's web address from computers with external internet access, users receive a notification that the connection is restricted," a ministry official said.
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