I have a 2000 Epiphone Les Paul Standard Translucent Amber made in the Saein factory. It is flawless in construction. I had a weird issue with the bridge pickup. I open it up and test all the points with a multi tester and it worked perfectly after putting it all back together. My guess would be something in the pots but who knows.
I also have a 1998 Epiphone ES-335 Dot made in the Samick factory.
My family had a music store around that time and I would say over all the Samick factory products were slightly better (negligible). Any thing produced in Korea was excellent quality though. In my opinion the 3 best Korean factories were Samick, Saein, and Unsung. Different people will argue about which is the best. You would have a hard time telling the difference unless you had a wall of dozens to compare them to. They all play and sound excellent and you won't be disappointed with any of them. I can't comment on Chinese quality because we got out if it around the time they switched.
Most importantly don't make any decisions based on other people's opinions. If they feel right and play well to you listen to your heart.
