It's clear that this definition is the same of lower integral for Riemann integral (...)
That is false. As a counter-example, the function $\mathbf{1}_{\mathbb{[0,1] \backslash Q}}: [0,1] \to \mathbb{R}$ has lower integral for Riemann integral equal to $0$, and "lower" integral according to the Lebesgue definition equal to $1$. The point, as mentioned by Ian at the comments, is that not every simple function is a step function: the function above being an example.
The function above is also an example of one which is Lebesgue integrable but not Riemann integrable, so the statement as it is in the title is not true.
However, the statement
$$\sup \left\{ \int \phi : \ \phi \leq f \right\} = \inf \left\{ \int \phi : \ \phi \geq f \right\}$$
is true, if $f$ is a non-negative bounded function which is not zero only on a finite measure set.* To see this, it suffices to show a sequence of simple functions $\phi_n \geq f$ such that $\lim \int \phi_n =\int f$.
Pick $M \mathbf{1}_E \geq f$. Now, we then have $M\mathbf{1}_E - f \geq 0.$ It follows that there is an increasing sequence $s_n$ of simple functions such that $s_n \to M\mathbf{1}_E-f$ and $s_n \leq M\mathbf{1}_E-f.$ By the monotone convergence theorem, $\int s_n \to \int M\mathbf{1}_E -\int f$.
We have that $f \leq M\mathbf{1}_E-s_n$, so that $\phi_n:=M\mathbf{1}_E-s_n$ is a sequence of simple functions satisfying what we want, since
$$\int \phi_n=\int M\mathbf{1}_E-\int s_n \to\int f.$$
*If $f$ doesn't satisfy those hypotheses (i.e., bounded and not zero only on a finite measure set), the right side is always infinity so the question is a little irrelevant.