OpenAI and ChatGPT logos are seen in this illustration taken, Feb. 3, 2023. Reuters-Yonhap

The number of weekly users of OpenAI's ChatGPT in Korea exceeded 2 million for the first time this month, data showed Sunday, after the government temporarily suspended the local service of China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence (AI) over concerns of its data management.

The mobile ChatGPT application had 2,025,546 users in the first week of February and further advanced to 2,092,797 users last week, according to the data compiled by industry tracker IGAWorks.

ChatGPT had maintained its weekly user base at around 1.5 million in the beginning of the year.

With the advent of DeepSeek, the weekly users of ChatGPT rose, along with that of its Chinese competitor, reaching 1,804,499 users in the last week of January.

The recent surge in ChatGPT users came as public institutions and private companies in Korea began banning the use of DeepSeek over security concerns.

The Personal Information Protection Commission temporarily suspended new downloads of the Chinese AI app on Monday, citing concerns about its data collection practices.

Consequently, the number of ChatGPT users jumped to 829,459 on Monday, compared with 760,766 tallied the previous day, according to the data.

The number increased further to 855,979 on Tuesday, with the upward trend likely to continue for the time being, according to IGAWorks. (Yonhap)