China urges South Korea against ‘politicizing’ trade over DeepSeek ban

Beijing “consistently requires Chinese firms to carry out overseas operations in strict compliance with local laws and regulations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in the Chinese capital, state media reported.

South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission said the DeepSeek service was suspended Saturday and will be resumed after "improvements and remedies" are made in line with the country’s personal information protection laws.

However, Guo urged Seoul expressed to “refrain from politicizing or securitizing trade and technology issues.”

Seoul’s move comes after several government ministries and agencies blocked internal access to the AI service amid concerns about its "data management practices."

The commission last month formally sought clarification on DeepSeek's data collection and management methods.

DeepSeek has since assigned a representative in South Korea and acknowledged shortcomings in considering the country’s privacy laws while also expressing its will to cooperate with the commission, according to South Korean officials.

The Chinese startup DeepSeek sent shockwaves through the AI industry last month with its cost-effective and free chatbot due to its rapid progress in rivaling US-based OpenAI’s ChatGPT with far fewer resources.

DeepSeek gained unprecedented popularity in mobile app stores across the globe, dethroning ChatGPT in certain regions, including the US.