He is now remembered as a martyr in South Korea, where the attack is sometimes referred to as the Patriotic Deed of Lee Bong-chang (Korean: 이봉창의사 의거).

[3][4][5] In the aftermath of the attack, Japanese authorities stepped up their search for Kim Ku and other members of the Korean Provisional Government, which had funded the operation.

In the July 1931 Wanpaoshan Incident, it sensationalized a minor dispute between Chinese and Korean farmers in order to stir up anti-Chinese sentiment in Korea and Japan.

At some point, he was arrested and detained for 11 days because he had a letter from a childhood friend written in Korean in his pocket.

Overhearing this suggestion, Kim Ku, a prominent leader in the KPG, took Lee at his word, and recruited him for the attack.

Together, they theorized that the Emperor would be about 100 metres (330 ft) away from a crowd in public appearances, and that they should use a lighter grenade that could be thrown farther, at the cost of a weaker explosion.

[8][b] Preparation for the attack happened slowly; the KPG was plagued with infighting and poor funding throughout its history.

KPG leaders such as Jo So-ang and Kim Ch'ŏl [ko] were reportedly aghast at the plan, and initially rejected it because they found the mission too expensive and unlikely to succeed.

On either December 28 or 29, Lee saw an article in the Tokyo Asahi Shinbun that said that the Emperor would be present at a public military parade on January 8 in Yoyogi Park.

[8] Around this time, he obtained the business card of a military police officer, which later proved crucial to the attack.

Lee showed them the business card of the military police officer he had obtained earlier and explained that he just wanted to see the Emperor.

The Emperor reportedly showed little interest in the incident and said "Ah, he's probably a member of the [Korea] Independence Party!

[8] Kim Ku learned of the attack's outcome the following day, and was reportedly initially extremely disappointed.

That same day, Kim was quietly warned by his allies in the French Concession, who had been harboring him against the wishes of Japan, that they would have difficulty protecting him after the attack.

Historian Son Sae-il [ko] claims this helped alleviate tensions between Koreans and Chinese people.

The disagreement escalated into a riot [zh], which lasted for more than a week and required the intervention of 600 Japanese soldiers from two warships to stop.

That day the KPG held an emergency cabinet meeting, where they agreed to have Kim's Korea Independence Party (KIP) publicly accept responsibility for the attack.

We hope that, cheering with the same voice, we can charge directly into the stronghold of imperialists, tear down tyrants and aggressors, and bring about national freedom and independence.The KPO conducted a number of other attacks on Japanese officials, with most being unsuccessful.

But three months later, they conducted a successful bombing in Hongkou Park in Shanghai, which killed Japanese General Yoshinori Shirakawa.

[11] Lee was posthumously honored by the government of South Korea with the Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1962, and a commemorative postage stamp in 1992.