DeepSeek is a Chinese artificial intelligence company that develops open-source large language models (LLM). (Image: DeepSeek logo)
SEOUL, May 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Once hailed as a global challenger to ChatGPT, China’s generative AI platform DeepSeek is failing to gain traction in South Korea despite resuming downloads late last month after a data privacy-related suspension.
According to mobile analytics firm IGAWorks’ Mobile Index, DeepSeek ranked sixth in the domestic AI app market in terms of weekly active users (WAU) between April 28 and May 4, capturing a mere 0.56% share with 38,882 users. In contrast, OpenAI’s ChatGPT continued to dominate with a staggering 83.92% market share and over 5.85 million users.
Trailing behind were SK Telecom’s A. (9.46%, 659,676 users), Perplexity (5.10%, 355,797), Riiid’s Wrtn (4.81%, 335,152), and Microsoft’s Copilot (0.86%, 60,174).
DeepSeek performed even worse in new installations, placing 12th with only 4,600 downloads over the same week. ChatGPT led with over 390,000 new installs, followed by Google’s Gemini.
Originally launched by a Chinese startup earlier this year, DeepSeek drew international attention for offering ChatGPT-level performance at significantly lower cost. It even topped app store rankings in some markets, briefly surpassing ChatGPT.
However, concerns over excessive personal data collection severely undermined its momentum—particularly in South Korea, where the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) banned downloads in February. The app only returned to local app stores on April 28 after addressing regulatory issues.
But its comeback has been underwhelming. Daily new installs have remained below 1,000, with just 631 recorded on May 6. Daily active users (DAU) have also remained low, hovering under 10,000 this month.
Despite initial global acclaim, DeepSeek now faces an uphill battle in South Korea’s increasingly competitive—and privacy-conscious—AI market.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
