 In 2006, Lee naturalised as a Japanese citizen in order to run for a position in the assembly of Osaka Prefecture.Running from his hometown, the Takatsuki electoral district, he estimated that he would require 13,000 votes to gain a seat.Though in the past, he had held on to his South Korean nationality as an expression of his identity, and joined campaigns demanding suffrage for foreign residents, he naturalised for the express purpose of representing foreign residents and other minorities in local politics.