The DeepSeek app is seen on smartphones. Photo: AA/VNA

The Personal Information Protection Commission announced that downloads of the app were suspended at 6 p.m. on Saturday and will be reinstated once improvements are made in compliance with the country's Personal Information Protection Act.

The decision comes after multiple ministries and government agencies blocked internal access to the AI service due to concerns about the startup's data management practices.

The PIPC sent an inquiry in late January to DeepSeek’s headquarters in China, requesting details on data collection, processing and storage methods. The commission's own analysis also found the service did not fully meet the nation's privacy laws. DeepSeek appointed a representative in Korea and then acknowledged these and promised active cooperation with the PIPC.