South Korean government agencies and major financial institutions have blocked access to the Chinese artificial intelligence(AI) service DeepSeek on their employees’ work computers due to security concerns.

The ministries of environment, health, gender equality, infrastructure, SMEs as well as the National Police Agency and Fair Trade Commission on Thursday restricted access to DeepSeek at their own discretion on computers that connect to external networks. The move comes a day after the foreign, defense and trade ministries implemented such measures. 

The SMEs ministry and the FTC said they will block access to DeepSeek until the safety of the service is clearly confirmed.

Major financial institutions including state-run Export–Import Bank of Korea as well as the nation’s largest KB Financial Group have already blocked access to the app.

The ban comes amid concerns about the potential for leaks of sensitive information when using the Chinese generative AI service. 

The finance ministry said it is considering restricting access to DeepSeek on personal computers that connect to external networks. 

Last Tuesday, the interior ministry sent out letters to the central government and 17 local governments, urging them to exercise caution when using generative AI, including DeepSeek and ChatGPT.