Seoul

Hyundai Motor Group has restricted its employees from accessing DeepSeek, a Chinese generative artificial intelligence (AI) service, amid concerns over potential data leaks, according to sources on Friday.

Hyundai Motor and Kia issued an internal notice informing employees at their headquarters in Seoul that access to DeepSeek would be blocked due to information security risks, the sources said, reports Yonhap news agency.

The ban extends across Hyundai Motor Group's other units, including Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Wia and Hyundai Glovis, they added.

The group plans to implement the same restrictions at its overseas operations in the near future, according to company officials.

The measure follows similar actions taken by South Korea's government agencies and other businesses earlier this week amid growing concerns over data privacy risks surrounding the Chinese AI service.

Earlier, the Ministry of Environment and other government agencies on Thursday joined a move to block access to the Chinese AI service DeepSeek amid concerns about user data collection.

The ministry blocked access to DeepSeek from its internet-connected PCs, though it did not take such a measure for other generative AIs, such as OpenAI and ChatGPT.

"The intelligence authorities have asked for caution in using DeepSeek, as its personal information collection system is not yet clearly known," a ministry official said.

The Board of Audit and Inspection, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and the Ministry of Government Legislation also blocked access to DeepSeek, citing concerns of leakage of personal data to the Chinese service.

As part of the move, the education ministry decided to ban the Chinese AI platform, with the decision also affecting kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools.

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Since the interior ministry asked central government ministries and 17 local governments on Tuesday to be cautious about using generative AIs, such as DeepSeek, the foreign, trade, defence and finance ministries have blocked access to the Chinese AI so far.