Former president Roh Moo-hyun's son (left) and daughter

Former president Roh Moo-hyun's son and daughter were looking for two deluxe homes worth US$1 million each in San Francisco on the U.S. west coast and in New York on the east in early 2007, prosecutors allege.

They claim a National Intelligence Service official, on instruction from then NIS chief Kim Man-bok, was looking for a house worth between US$1 million and $1.4 million in March and April 2007 in San Francisco, where Roh's son Geon-ho (36) was studying. His daughter Jeong-yeon (34) was looking for a home in New York.

Prosecutors believe that the home in New York, which Roh Jeong-yeon bought, really belongs to Geon-ho but are investigating whether each of them attempted to buy a home separately. Jeong-yeon paid a $50,000 deposit in May 2007 to buy a deluxe apartment in New Jersey with views of the Empire State Building in Manhattan for $1.6 million.

She paid the deposit with part of $100,000 her mother Kwon Yang-sook sent at that time, and then made a down payment of $400,000 to seal the deal after Roh's wealthy supporter Park Yeon-cha, the CEO of Taekwang Industry, sent the money in September, prosecutors claim.

A Roh associate said Roh Geon-ho looked to buy a home in the U.S. but stopped. Prosecutors say Jeong-yeon in questioning on Wednesday did not admit that the New Jersey apartment belongs to Geon-ho nor did she give up her contract.