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Mileage points accumulated by public servants for official travel should be put toward supporting social welfare facilities and other vulnerable groups, the state-run anti-corruption agency said Tuesday.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) has urged the Ministry of Personnel Management, along with 243 local governments and institutions, to adopt its plans for the efficient use of frequent-flyer rewards.

The commission's survey revealed that last year alone, about 35 million miles — accumulated by government officials from 49 central administrative institutions and 243 local governments and sub-agencies — had expired and lost their validity.

Additionally, another 39 million miles went unused last year, due to the retirement of public officials holding them in their personal accounts.

Currently, according to airline companies' terms and conditions, mileage points accrued by public officials for official duties are credited to their personal accounts. The country's regulations on public official travel expenses specify that these rewards should be used primarily for purchasing airline tickets or upgrading seats on future official trips.

However, such regulations have long been criticized for being impractical. Often, the accumulated amount does not reach the threshold required to redeem bonus tickets. Also, there is significant variation in the rewards accumulated by individual officials, making uniform application of the rules difficult.

To address these issues, the government previously implemented various measures aimed at increasing the utilization of frequent-flyer rewards. These included allowing officials to personally purchase their accrued mileage points from official duties for personal use and encouraging their use for purchasing goods for donation to welfare organizations.

Despite such guidelines, many mileage points remained unused and expired due to airlines' expiration policies and officials retiring. As a response, the anti-corruption agency has now come up with newly improved plans for using the rewards.

The new recommendations urge government institutions conduct regular checks on mileage points held by officials. They also suggest officials use their mileage points to purchase items from airline malls and donate them to the socially vulnerable, such as social welfare facilities, under the institution's name as part of social contributions.

"This new initiative aims to prevent the waste of miles accumulated with government funds, while establishing a system to support vulnerable groups, including social welfare facilities. The commission will further develop measures to improve the effectiveness and public benefit of government budget expenditures," Kim Tae-gyu, vice chair of the ACRC, emphasized.