Seoul Says China’s DeepSeek Illegally Sent Koreans’ AI Prompts Abroad
South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has accused Chinese artificial‑intelligence firm DeepSeek of transferring Korean users’ personal data and AI prompts to servers in the United States and China without consent when its mobile application launched in January, Reuters reported Thursday.
Investigators say the app forwarded data to several overseas entities, including Beijing‑based Volcano Engine Technology, prompting regulators in February to suspend fresh downloads of the service.
DeepSeek acknowledged the transfers, claiming they were intended “to improve user experience,” and told authorities that all prompt‑related exports stopped on 10 April. The PIPC has ordered the company to erase any data already sent abroad and to establish a lawful basis—such as explicit user consent—before moving Korean information outside the country in future.
