Republic of Korea: Personal Information Protection Commission issued investigation finding on DeepSeek over personal information processing practices, including voluntary suspension and corrective implementation

On 27 November 2025, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) issued an investigation finding during the final review of the 2025 Proactive Administration Best Case Competition. The finding concerned the personal information processing practices of the Chinese generative AI service DeepSeek. The PIPC noted that, immediately after DeepSeek’s launch in January 2025 and amid wider global attention to personal information risks, it established direct contact with the company’s headquarters and carried out its own preliminary analysis. The PIPC reported deficiencies in DeepSeek’s handling of personal information and recommended a temporary suspension of the service until these issues were addressed. DeepSeek accepted the recommendation and suspended the service globally, then resumed operations after implementing the improvements and supplementary measures requested by the PIPC. The PIPC stated that the finding affected users in the Republic of Korea and in other jurisdictions, and represented the first instance in which an overseas operator, at an early stage of service launch, committed to follow domestic law in response to the PIPC’s proactive engagement.