Anti-violence message to appear on soju bottles

Hite-Jinro, a leading beer and soju maker, said Wednesday that it will attach labels to its products to warn against alcohol-induced violence and promote a sound drinking culture.

The company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to lead a campaign to eliminate alcohol-fueled violence and help people refrain from heavy drinking.

Hite-Jinro will lead the campaign through its popular products such as Chamisul soju, and Hite and Max beers. The label will read: “Stop alcohol violence! Let’s correct the wrong drinking culture!”

“As a company leading the alcohol industry in this country, we felt the responsibility to create a sound, healthy drinking culture and prevent alcohol abuse,” said CEO Lee Nam-soo.

“The campaign will not be a one-off event. We will continuously promote healthy drinking habits among people in cooperation with the police agency.”

The company said it will actively push the campaign through its employees. Sales department employees will visit stores to place the stickers on bottles and give handouts to citizens on how to drink healthily.

Despite the move, however, citizens are quite skeptical on whether the campaign will actually eradicate bad drinking habits.

“People who like to drink will still continue even if there are stickers on the bottles saying no to alcohol violence. It’s not like they look at the bottles when they drink,” said Kang Kyu-young, an office worker in his 30s.

Another office worker Lee Ji-yoon said, “Cigarette packs have warning messages on them but people still smoke despite them. I wonder how effective the stickers will be for alcohol.” <The Korea Times/Yun Suh-young >

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