Synopsis
For the first time, the weekly user count of OpenAI's ChatGPT in South Korea has exceeded 2 million, following the government's suspension of China's DeepSeek AI service due to data management concerns. This significant increase in users highlights the growing preference for ChatGPT amidst security worries.Key Takeaways
- Weekly ChatGPT users in South Korea hit 2 million.
- Government suspended DeepSeek service over data concerns.
- ChatGPT's users rose significantly after the ban.
- South Korea plans to develop its own AI chatbot.
- Full government support for AI R&D initiatives announced.
Seoul, Feb 23 (NationPress) The weekly count of users for OpenAI's ChatGPT in South Korea has crossed the 2 million mark for the first time this month, according to data released on Sunday. This spike followed the government's temporary halt of the local service of China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence (AI) due to concerns regarding its data management practices.
The mobile ChatGPT application recorded 2,025,546 users in the first week of February, which increased to 2,092,797 users last week, as per statistics compiled by industry tracker IGAWorks.
At the start of the year, ChatGPT had maintained a weekly user base of approximately 1.5 million, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
With the introduction of DeepSeek, the weekly user count for ChatGPT surged, alongside its Chinese competitor, hitting 1,804,499 users in the last week of January.
The recent increase in ChatGPT users coincided with public and private sector entities in South Korea instituting bans on DeepSeek due to security apprehensions.
The Personal Information Protection Commission temporarily halted new downloads of the Chinese AI application on Monday, citing worries over its data collection methods.
This led to a substantial jump in ChatGPT users, rising to 829,459 on Monday from 760,766 the day before, according to the data.
The user count grew further to 855,979 on Tuesday, and the upward trend is expected to persist for the foreseeable future, according to IGAWorks.
In the meantime, South Korea aims to develop its own version of ChatGPT, the AI chatbot created by the US-based OpenAI. Acting President Choi Sang-mok assured complete government backing for research and development (R&D) initiatives.
Choi made these statements during a high-level committee meeting focused on positioning South Korea among the world’s top three AI leaders. This committee was established to enhance collaboration between government and the private sector.
He noted the emergence of DeepSeek, a large-scale AI model from a Chinese startup, as both a potential risk and an opportunity for South Korea, which is seen as a latecomer in the AI domain.
“The government will provide full support for the development of world-class AI models,” Choi stated.
