DeepSeek gives inconsistent answers on kimchi origin

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea said the information on February 9. The NIS announced its assessment of DeepSeek's technology verification, amid growing security concerns related to the app. When the NIS asked in Korean about the origin of kimchi, DeepSeek replied: "It is a typical Korean dish steeped in the country's culture and history."

But when asked the same question in Chinese, DeepSeek asserted: “The origin is not Korea, but China.” When asked in English, DeepSeek replied: “It has something to do with Korea.”

When asked in Korean about the Dano Festival, DeepSeek replied that it was a Korean tradition. But when asked in Chinese and English, DeepSeek said it was a traditional Chinese holiday.

Notably, NIS asserted that other popular AI applications such as ChatGPT by OpenAI and CloverX developed by Naver (South Korea) all give the same answer regardless of language.

According to the NIS, DeepSeek stores all user input data, shares user data with advertisers without restrictions, and has no clear limit on data storage time, raising concerns about user privacy.

The NIS also noted that DeepSeek's terms suggest that users' personal information and input data could potentially be accessed by the Chinese government.

The NIS has sent a notice to all government agencies in South Korea, calling for caution regarding security issues when using generative AI tools like DeepSeek. The NIS stressed that it will thoroughly evaluate the technological stability of DeepSeek.

Previously, on February 5, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea confirmed that they had restricted access to DeepSeek on computers of these two ministries connected to external networks.

On February 4, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety of South Korea sent a dispatch to government agencies and provincial and municipal authorities, calling for caution when using AI services such as DeepSeek and ChatGPT.

South Korean tech giants Samsung, SK Group and LG have also banned the use of such programs on their computers without permission. These corporations are also developing their own AI services.

For its part, China has condemned the move to ban DeepSeek in several countries, emphasizing its stance against politicizing economic, trade, and technological issues. The Chinese Foreign Ministry affirmed: “The Chinese government has never and will never ask businesses or individuals to illegally collect and store data.”