[W Contribution] Korea and Japan's Strategies for Dealing with DeepSeek

Recently, many public institutions in South Korea have taken measures to block access to DeepSeek services, citing the view that this is a preventive measure for the security of South Korea and to prevent information leaks.
It is understood that there is concern that DeepSeek may collect information such as device information, IP addresses, and keyboard input patterns of users during the AI learning process and store them on servers in China.
As a result, major public institutions in South Korea, including the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, have distributed official documents banning or restricting the use of DeepSeek.
While these measures can be seen as necessary to strengthen South Korea's national security, they also pose the risk of hindering technological innovation and efficiency.
Since the use of AI is essential, rather than a blanket shutdown, limited use of AI for verified security services or independent strengthening of AI capabilities could be an alternative.
Public institutions should strengthen measures to address security concerns, but also strike a balance that fosters technological development and innovation.
For this reason, it is necessary to allow the use of AI tools with confirmed security and to strengthen the AI capabilities of public institutions themselves to reduce their reliance on external services.
We also need to consider ways to boost AI research. South Korea and Japan already have a solid foundation in AI research, although it is lacking. However, with the emergence of a global AI competition model such as DeepSeek,
Research and development (R&D) capabilities must be strengthened in a more focused manner. To this end, governments, businesses, and academia need to work together to take the following measures:
First, we must expand public and private AI research labs in Japan and South Korea.
We must expand and revitalize joint research projects with private companies between the two countries. We must also support the development of super-large AI models, and develop ultra-high performance computing infrastructure (HPC) for the development of LLMs in each country.
We should expand the number of PCs available and diversify training datasets to improve the performance of AI models. And we must expand open source AI development. Competing with overseas AI ecosystems
To achieve this, we must actively utilize open source AI models, open up AI models jointly developed by Japanese and Korean companies and research institutes, and promote innovation.
Second, investment in AI semiconductors and infrastructure is on the rise. DeepSeek's success was driven by strong hardware infrastructure. Japan and South Korea are also investing heavily in AI.
Investment in semiconductors and cloud infrastructure should be expanded. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are actively supporting the development of AI semiconductors, and Japan and South Korea's fabless semiconductor companies should be actively involved.
We should develop semiconductor companies and strengthen the AI semiconductor ecosystem. We should build a large-scale AI-dedicated supercomputer infrastructure for global-level AI research and model training, and
A cloud-based AI utilization support program must be prepared so that startups and research institutions can make use of it.
Third, we must pursue the creation of an AI ecosystem and global cooperation.
Japan and Korea need to create an AI ecosystem and continuously improve their AI competitiveness through global cooperation. They should actively invest in and strengthen development programs for AI startups.
We should create global AI hubs in major cities, including Tokyo and Seoul. We should expand technology sharing and joint research through cooperation with AI-advanced countries such as the United States and Europe, and set global AI standards.
With the emergence of DeepSeek, the race for AI dominance has intensified. Japan and South Korea have been closely involved in AI research and development, semiconductor and infrastructure investment, and data sovereignty.
The competitiveness of the AI industry should be enhanced through strengthening international cooperation, strengthening national security, and promoting global cooperation. In addition, the response to external AI services such as DeepSeek should strike a balance between security and innovation.
This requires a strategic approach that can protect national security while keeping up with technological developments. AI is not a simple technology race, but a national
As AI is a key factor in determining the future competitiveness of the world, governments, businesses, and academia must work together to advance long-term AI strategies. Through this, Korea and Japan can assume leading positions in the global AI market.
We will be able to take a leading role in sustainable AI innovation.