Hey zeppinger, I know from the other thread that you ended up buying the surly, but I wanted to post some info about the bike in case anyone else was looking into it.
(info from their website)
Lespo Rally:
14 speed road bike
Frame: not much info, just that it's aluminum (size goes only to 510 or M according to Giant's standards, which is strange given most Koreans nowadays are over 170 cm, maybe the frame sizing is used differently in Korea...)
crankset: aluminum 52-42T
brakes: aluminum caliper
total weight: 11.3 kg (without pedals)
there was a little bit more info on the site. I just put down what people might be interested in. Overall, though, the site did not really give specific info.
As was mentioned, the maker is Samchuly, and they do make higher-end bikes. You can view the more expensive brands at cellosports.com. They also custom make bikes and give better info for the more expensive models. As for the Lespo Rally, the reviews from Korean bloggers seemed favorable, and when I tested the bike out, I thought that it was a nice bike for the price. As you noticed, there's room for thicker tires and I asked the local store owner if the frame would support knobbier 700x30c and he said that it would. He kept telling me though that that would slow the bike down and why anyone would do that was beyond him... o.O I stopped asking him about the bike after that. I tested out the white and red bike, and I noticed it attracted quite a few stares (in a good way). I only rode the bike for about an hour, but it wasn't noticeably worse than my Fuji cross. I did have a problem with the gears shifting. After repeatedly switching gears back and forth, I noticed that it wasn't as accurate as I would have liked it. All in all, I think it's a nice bike to have while you're just looking around the country, especially if you don't want to fork over $1000 extra for a bike you'll have to ship back with you when you go back home.