South Korea has removed DeepSeek from app stores pending a privacy review, following concerns about how the company handles user data.

The country's Personal Information Protection Commission said the DeepSeek app was no longer available on Apple's App Store and Google Play as of Saturday evening.

It also advised users to delete the app from their devices and avoid introducing personal data to the app until further agreements are reached.

DeepSeek said it agreed to work with local authorities to resolve privacy issues and strengthen data protection before introducing a new version to the market; the government confirmed that the ban will be lifted once improvements are made.

Users who have already downloaded the app will still be able to access its services through DeepSeek's website or their phones.

The move comes after South Korea's Ministry of Industry temporarily banned employees from accessing the app as concerns grow globally over the security implications of the artificial intelligence service.

Early last week, South Korea’s ministry issued a notice urging government departments and agencies to use caution when using artificial intelligence services, including DeepSeek and ChatGPT, in the workplace.

"DeepSeek has emerged as a fresh shock, which could reshape the global industrial landscape," said acting president Choi Sang-mok during a ministerial meeting. "A Chinese company recently unveiled its AI model, DeepSeek R1, to deliver high performance at a low cost. This has come as a fresh shock."

DeepSeek has also faced further scrutiny by governments around the world, with growing concerns about the app's use for privacy and natural security, and countries such as Taiwan and Australia having already banned it from all government devices.

The Italian data protection regulator has also banned the service and asked DeepSeek to address privacy concerns before the app is available on app stores again.

In January, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) issued an alert about security vulnerabilities in DeepSeek citing concerns about unlimited data collection and inconsistent answers to sensitive questions.

In a statement released on 9 February, the intelligence agency said that DeepSeek collects identifiable user information, including keyboard input patterns, and transmits chat logs to servers operated by Chinese companies such as volceapplog.com.

The NIS highlighted that the AI model's terms of service require automatic sharing of user data with advertisers without restrictions or defined retention periods, suggesting personal information could be stored indefinitely and shared with third parties without user consent.

A significant concern raised by the agency is that South Korean users' data is stored on servers in China, where it may be subject to government access under Chinese law.

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