South Korea’s privacy regulator has opened an on-site inspection into how Zeekr collects and ships personal data, weeks before the Chinese brand’s 7X SUV reaches Korean showrooms. The Personal Information Protection Commission began the inspection on October 2, chair Song Kyung-hee told a National Assembly audit on October 13.
Lawmakers pressed Song on whether vehicle data gathered inside Korea could be transferred to China. She said her agency is examining collection methods, third-party sharing, overseas transfers and whether declared safeguards are practiced.
Zeekr is only the loudest name on the list. MLex reported on October 16 that the commission is looking at seven connected-car businesses, Korean and foreign. That widens the probe from one launch to the whole telematics pipeline.
What the watchdog wants to see
Connected cars accumulate location traces, trip histories, cabin microphone audio and identifiers tied to each driver profile. When that traffic leaves the country, the receiving jurisdiction’s rules apply instead of Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act. The commission’s questions map that gap: what leaves, to whom, under what guardrails.
Zeekr’s launch was already under scrutiny at the October 8 audit, where lawmakers questioned rivals Tesla and BYD about cross-border data and remote command authority.
Why regulators are moving together
Seoul is not alone. Norway’s armed forces recently found rented Chinese-branded cars had recorded soldiers, gate codes and movements during September exercises. Canada and the EU have tightened or debated connected-vehicle rules tied to foreign control of the data path.
Automakers argue compliance is a matter of localisation and disclosure. Regulators counter that a privacy policy naming one cloud provider while traffic lands on another is what an inspection exists to catch.
If the commission finds gaps, Zeekr could face corrective orders before the 7X ships at volume.
