DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, has temporarily paused downloads of its chatbot apps in South Korea while it works with local authorities to address privacy concerns, according to South Korean officials on Monday. South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission said DeepSeek's apps were removed from the local versions of Apple's App Store and Google Play on Saturday evening and that the company agreed to work with the agency to strengthen privacy protections before relaunching the apps. Read More: Is the DeepSeek Panic Overblown? The action does not affect users who have already downloaded DeepSeek on their phones or use it on personal computers. Nam Seok, director of the South Korean commission's investigation division, advised South Korean users of DeepSeek to delete the app from their devices or avoid entering personal information into the tool until the issues are resolved.

The South Korean police began investigating messaging app Telegram for the first time for its alleged negligence over deepfake-related sex crimes, Yonhap News reported, citing a briefing from the head of National Office of Investigation. The probe was launched by the Seoul Metropolitan Police and like in other countries, Telegram has been uncooperative in sharing materials with the authorities, investigation office head Woo Jong-soo said, according to Yonhap on Monday. South Korea is doing its best to deploy its own investigating tools to extract the materials, Yonhap said, citing Woo. The investigation comes less than a week after the South Korean government asked Telegram and other social media companies to delete deepfake images from their platforms after an increase in such content. President Yoon Suk-yeol last week described deepfake as a "clear crime" and ordered officials to take stern actions to counter it.

The AI Fringe returned for a second year on 5 June. The event was designed to complement the AI Seoul Summit which was co-hosted by the UK and South Korea governments. The goals of the AI Fringe are 1) to bring together the views of industry, civil society and academia on safe and beneficial AI, 2) to provide a platform for all communities to engage in the discussion, 3) to enhance understanding of AI and its impacts so organisations can harness its benefits. This year, the Fringe comprised a half-day event with the key elements being two panel discussions. The first addressed AI safety, and the panel reflected on progress over the last 12 months.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday called fake news and disinformation based on AI and digital technology threats to democracy, as some officials attending a global summit accused Russia and China of conducting malicious propaganda campaigns. Speaking at the opening of the Summit for Democracy being held in Seoul, Yoon said countries had a duty to share experiences and wisdom so that artificial intelligence and technology could be employed to promote democracy. "Fake news and disinformation based on artificial intelligence and digital technology not only violates individual freedom and human rights but also threatens democratic systems," Yoon said.

For instance, in 2021, a smart sewer system based on artificial intelligence has been launched in South Korea.

The South Korean government shared roughly 170 million face images of citizens and resident foreign nationals with the private sector without their consent to be used in training and testing biometric algorithms, according to a recent Ministry of Justice document. The move is part of an "AI identification and tracking system development project" based on a memorandum of understanding between the Korean Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT). Scheduled for completion in 2022, the project has seen the MOJ transferring information obtained during the immigration screening process to the MSIT, including face biometrics, nationality, gender, and age. The MSIT subsequently transferred that information to private businesses for the purpose of artificial intelligence technology research, according to the allegations. The South Korean government mentioned the creation of the project in a press release when it first launched in 2019 but did not disclose information about its structure, scope, or data collection methods.

South Korea unveiled plans to spend roughly $450 billion to build the world's biggest chipmaking base over the next decade, joining China and the U.S. in a global race to dominate the key technology. Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. will lead more than 510 trillion won of investment in semiconductor research and production in the years to 2030 under a national blueprint devised by President Moon Jae-in's administration. They'll be among 153 companies fueling the decadelong push, intended to safeguard the nation's most economically crucial industry. Moon will get a briefing from chip executives on the initiative Thursday during a visit to the country's most advanced chip factory, a Samsung plant south of Seoul. The investment comes at a time when the U.S., China and the European Union seek to shore up their semiconductor capabilities after a global chip shortage exposed a reliance on just a handful of Asian manufacturers and hobbled efforts to repair pandemic-scarred economies.

South Koreans must learn how to work alongside machines if they want to thrive in a post-pandemic world where many jobs will be handled by artificial intelligence and robots, according to the country's labor minister. "Automation and AI will change South Korea faster than other countries," Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-kap said in an interview Tuesday. "Not all jobs may be replaced by machines, but it's important to learn ways to work well with machines through training." While people will have to increase their adaptability to work in a fast-changing high-tech environment, policymakers will also need to play their part, Lee said. The government needs to provide support to enable workers to move from one sector of the economy to another in search of employment and find ways to increase the activity of women in the economy, he added.

Seoul – South Korean President Moon Jae-in called on Wednesday for a regional infectious disease control and public health initiative involving Japan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea to tackle health crises and lay the foundation for peace with Pyongyang. Moon unveiled the so-called Northeast Asia Cooperation Initiative for Infectious Disease Control and Public Health during a video address to the U.N. General Assembly. "In the face of the COVID-19 crisis that poses a greater threat to humanity than a war, we came to be acutely reminded that the safety of neighboring countries is directly linked to that of our own," Moon said, according to an English translation of his prepared remarks distributed by his office. Such an initiative would lead North Korea to "engage with the international community," according to Moon. "It is not only Korea's response to COVID-19 but also the invaluable lessons Korea will be gaining from institutionalizing peace that Korea wishes to share with the rest of the world," he said.

Seoul – In a cramped office in eastern Seoul, Hwang Seungwon points a remote control toward a huge NASA-like overhead screen stretching across one of the walls. With each flick of the control, a colorful array of pie charts, graphs and maps reveals the search habits of thousands of South Korean senior citizens being monitored by voice-enabled "smart" speakers, an experimental remote care service the company says is increasingly needed during the coronavirus crisis. "We closely monitor for signs of danger, whether they are more frequently using search words that indicate rising states of loneliness or insecurity," said Hwang, director of a social enterprise established by SK Telecom to handle the service. Trigger words lead to a recommendation for a visit by local public health officials. As South Korea's government pushes to allow businesses to access vast amounts of personal information and to ease restrictions holding back telemedicine, tech firms could potentially find much bigger markets for their artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.