BluGen — About

A high-demand market served by a fragile production system.

40–60%

Industry mortality

~700

Farms, avg 70 MT/yr

New permits in 7+ yrs

20+

Years of flat output

Most farms still rely on flow-through water systems, moist-pellet feed, and antibiotics — methods that cause environmental damage, increase production costs, and make the industry vulnerable to climate change and disease outbreaks. The industry needs a fundamentally different approach.

Origins

From Norway's salmon farms to Korea's flounder frontier.

Before BluGen, Woo-Jai Lee spent two decades in Norway leading genomics R&D for Atlantic salmon and tilapia — then looked at Korea's flounder industry and saw an opportunity to apply everything he'd learned.

He founded BluGen in 2013, not to build a fish farm, but to build the platform that could redesign how Korea farms fish. The company started with genetics research, completed 80+ R&D projects across 18 species, developed a 9th-generation elite broodstock program, and is now constructing Asia's largest land-based olive flounder facility.

The people driving the project.

Woo-Jai Lee, PhD

CEO & Founder

31 years in aquaculture. Former director of genomics R&D at leading salmon and tilapia companies in Norway. Founded BluGen in 2013. Government-recognized industry expert in olive flounder genetics and breeding.

Dong-Beom Kim

VP, Technology & Operations

PhD in Oceanography, Seoul National University. Former Senior Research Fellow, Korea Maritime Research Institute. Leads RAS systems, marine engineering, and operational readiness.

BluGen's extended team includes specialists in marine biology, genetic engineering, aquaculture operations, RAS systems design, and Korean market development.

Public Sector Support

Backed by Korean government institutions.

The Korean government directly asked BluGen to address the olive flounder industry's structural challenges. BluGen's 80+ R&D projects were funded or commissioned by multiple government-linked agencies.

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries 해양수산부

NIFS 국립수산과학원

KIMST 한국해양과학기술진흥원

FIRA 한국수산자원공단

Government recognition

Korean government directly engaged BluGen to address the industry's challenges.

Permits secured

Full land and aquaculture permits — including within a protected coastal reserve.

R&D commissioned

80+ projects funded by government-linked agencies since 2013.

Industry expert

CEO Woo-Jai Lee is government-recognized in flounder genetics.

The science, the team, the backing.

BluGen was founded to prove that Korea's most important farmed fish can be produced sustainably, at scale, with full value-chain control — and to build the platform that makes it replicable.

A high-demand market served by a fragile production system.