SEOUL – The recent arrival of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD in the South Korean passenger car market has ignited concerns about potential data leaks to China. Industry experts and cybersecurity specialists are raising questions about the security of personal data collected by BYD vehicles.

BYD launched its first model, the Atto 3, in Korea last month. The vehicle boasts connected car features, including over-the-air (OTA) software updates and navigation, which critics argue could transmit sensitive driver information to China.

"BYD must be transparent about the types of data collected and how it's used," urged Yom Heung-yeol, cybersecurity professor emeritus at Soonchunhyang University. Yom emphasized the need for an "opt-out" option, allowing consumers to refuse data collection.

BYD Korea has responded to these concerns, stating, "We understand Korean customers' concerns regarding personal data security and strictly comply with the Personal Information Protection Act." The company insists that data collected in Korea is managed locally and not shared with its headquarters in China. BYD also confirmed it has no plans to integrate DeepSeek, a Chinese generative AI service, into its vehicles, unlike fellow Chinese EV maker Geely.

Despite these assurances, worries remain, particularly regarding the storage of Korean user data on Tencent Cloud servers, a Chinese IT company. Experts express unease about storing sensitive information on servers affiliated with China, even if they are located within Korea.

Lim Jong-in, professor emeritus at Korea University's graduate school of information security, called for thorough government inspections of BYD vehicles, focusing not only on performance but also cybersecurity. "Similar to Huawei in the past," Lim warned, "there's a risk of backdoor vulnerabilities that could allow unauthorized access to data." The situation is being closely watched as BYD's presence in the Korean EV market grows.

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