DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, has suspended downloads of its chatbot apps in South Korea following concerns from the Personal Information Protection Commission about data privacy. The commission found that DeepSeek lacked transparency regarding third-party data transfers and might have collected excessive personal information. While new downloads are halted, users who have already downloaded the app can still use it. The company is cooperating with authorities to address these issues before a potential relaunch. DeepSeek had garnered around 1.2 million users in South Korea as of late January.