South Korean drinkers are being warned not to let their prodigious consumption lead to violence, amid evidence of an epidemic of alcohol-fuelled crime.

Hite-Jinro, the country's biggest producer of alcoholic drinks, said it had introduced warning labels on its products in Seoul in conjunction with a police crackdown on violent incidents involving alcohol.

The labels, which appeared this week on bottles of beer and soju implore drinkers to refrain from violence and improve the country's drinking culture.

South Korean adults are the biggest consumers of spirits in the world, working their way through 9.57 litres per head in 2005, according to data published last year by the World Health Organisation.

According to the country's alcohol and liquor industry association, South Koreans collectively drink 9.5 million bottles of beer and almost 9 million bottles of soju a day.

Jinro's brand of soju is the biggest-selling spirit in the world, according to a survey by the UK-based Drinks International magazine, easily outselling vodka and whisky brands last year.

The distilled spirit, traditionally made from rice but increasingly from other starches such as potatoes and wheat, typically contains about 20% alcohol and can be bought cheaply from convenience stores and supermarkets across South Korea.

Alcohol-induced violence in public and at home is common, but courts have traditionally been reluctant to impose harsh penalties on suspects who claimed they were under the influence.

A poll this year found that alcohol was a factor in almost a third of the 3m serious crimes – including murder, robbery and rape – recorded over the past five years. Drunkenness was cited in 76% of public order offences and 44% of cases of domestic violence.

A sales manager at Hite-Jinro told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper: "We felt tremendously responsible for social problems caused by drinking and will help efforts to change our drinking culture to a more positive one."

Song Ran-hee, of the Korea Women's Hot Line, told the newspaper: "Men tend to resort to violence because they are drunk, and then they tend to drink more to avoid the shame of what they have done. If this happens frequently, it becomes a vicious cycle."

Public outcry has forced politicians to take on drinks companies whose advertisements increasingly target young South Koreans. Last month Elisa Lee, an MP with the ruling New Frontier party, submitted a bill that would ban celebrities and sports stars aged under 25 from appearing in adverts for alcoholic drinks.

Companies regularly enlist athletes and K-pop stars to front commercials for alcoholic drinks. Boy bands feature heavily in beer commercials even though most of their fans are teenagers, and female pop stars have been blamed for the recent rise in the popularity of soju among young women.

The government is expected to outlaw the sale and consumption of alcohol in public places such as hospitals and to ban alcohol advertisements on public transport and outdoor hoardings, local media reported.

The Chosun Ilbo, which has campaigned on the issue, said: "The situation has now become so ingrained in Korean culture that many people see it as acceptable to turn up for work reeking of booze after a heavy night out. It is also commonplace for students and salarymen to become intoxicated to the point of being incapable of looking after themselves."