Asia Society Washington DC's 2009 Annual Awards Dinner recognized Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, architect I.M. Pei, Seung-Yu Kim, chairman and CEO of Hana Financial Group, and John Wood, founder and executive chairman of the non-profit group Room to Read.

Dr. Chu received Asia Society's Public Policy Leadership Award for his lifetime service devoted to energy and environmental issues. He stressed the importance of energy efficiency, reducing carbon consumption, and building collaborative communities across international boundaries. In the end, we are all in this together, noted Dr. Chu, adding the future of the world depends on the ability of the US and other nations to build legitimate and sustainable environmental agreements, and in finding ways to share ideas in collaborative ways, especially with China; We have so much to teach each other.