'Deep Seek Alert' Security-Related Departments Move to Block

Ministry of National Defense: "Blocked Only on Military Work PCs"
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "Security Review Underway"

Central administrative agencies related to national security in South Korea have begun a vigilance posture against China’s artificial intelligence (AI) service ‘DeepSeek.’ This comes amid growing concerns that various information collected by DeepSeek during its use could be leaked to China.

According to the government on the 6th, the Ministry of National Defense blocked access to DeepSeek only on internet personal computers (PCs) used for military affairs as of the previous day. This was due to numerous technical concerns raised both domestically and internationally regarding DeepSeek.

No additional measures have been taken so far. A Ministry of National Defense official stated, “Access to DeepSeek was blocked only on work PCs connected to external networks,” adding, “The use of applications by individual soldiers is not restricted.”

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “I understand that related departments are reviewing overall security,” but refrained from commenting on specific security measures.

Earlier, on the 3rd, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the National Intelligence Service sent security guidelines to all central government ministries and metropolitan local governments, advising not to input sensitive information when using generative AI such as DeepSeek and OpenAI. Additionally, the Personal Information Protection Commission sent an inquiry letter to DeepSeek’s headquarters requesting confirmation of personal information collection items, procedures, processing, and storage methods, but it is reported that no response has been received yet.

The issuance of a DeepSeek alert by military and other foreign affairs and security-related agencies is not unique to South Korea. On the 5th (local time), the Australian government decided to block DeepSeek on all government devices following a national security agency’s assessment that DeepSeek could pose unacceptable risks. Taiwan, Italy, and the U.S. state of Texas have also blocked the use of DeepSeek within their governments.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.