Illustration of the Deepseek logo captured on January 27, 2025. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

South Korea’s privacy watchdog has temporarily prohibited access to the DeepSeek app, which is based in China.

The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) announced on Monday that there are “specific deficiencies” regarding DeepSeek’s management of personal data and its communication capabilities with third-party services.

The commission stated, “We believe that rectifying the issues within the DeepSeek service will require a substantial amount of time. To avert any further concerns, we have advised DeepSeek to temporarily suspend its operations in Korea while making the necessary modifications.”

In compliance with the government’s directive, DeepSeek has been removed from domestic app markets as of 6 PM on Saturday.

Reported by LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]