"Just Let Me See It"... Thefts Surge as Pokémon Card Values Soar to 25 Billion Won per Card

The Value of Some Rare Cards Skyrockets...
Robberies and Thefts Reported Worldwide


The Pokémon Card Market Expected to Continue Growing

As the prices of rare Pokémon cards soar to tens of millions of won, related theft incidents are continuing.

'Poncho-Clad Pikachu' Series Stolen from Hong Kong Pokémon Trading Card Specialty Store. Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP)

On April 9, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Hong Kong police are searching for a man who stole two Pokémon cards worth about 250,000 Hong Kong dollars (approximately 47.2 million won) from a card shop in Tsim Sha Tsui and fled the scene.

According to police, the suspect entered "Light TCG," a trading card specialty store on Granville Road in Hong Kong, at around 3:30 p.m. that day and asked to see two rare Pokémon cards. When the clerk handed over the cards, the suspect snatched them and ran away.

The stolen cards are known to be from the limited edition "Poncho-Clad Pikachu" series. The store posted photos of the cards and their unique serial numbers on social networking services (SNS), asking the public to report if they come across any transactions involving those numbers.

Since their release in Japan in 1996, Pokémon trading cards have gained immense global popularity as collectibles. In particular, the collection value of certain rare cards surged after the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, crimes targeting high-priced Pokémon cards have been on the rise.

In fact, on April 1, police in Vancouver, Canada, arrested a man who had committed robbery targeting Pokémon card collectors. The man reportedly used Facebook Marketplace to lure card traders and, when sellers arrived at the meeting spot, sprayed them with bear repellent and escaped with the cards. A card shop in Burnaby, Canada, suffered three thefts; on January 12, thieves broke a window and fled with Pokémon merchandise worth about 10,000 dollars (approximately 14.85 million won).

Additionally, in January in Hong Kong, a buyer fled without paying for 19 Pokémon cards worth 200,000 Hong Kong dollars (approximately 37.94 million won) during a transaction, and another theft involving cards worth 8,000 Hong Kong dollars (around 1.51 million won) occurred in February.

Popular influencer Logan Paul’s collected Pokémon cards. YouTube capture

While most ordinary cards are typically worth only a few dollars, rare and premium cards can trade for tens or even hundreds of millions of won. For example, influencer Logan Paul purchased a "Pikachu Illustrator Card" for 5.27 million dollars (about 800 million won) in 2021. Logan Paul wore this card encased in a gold necklace and, in February, resold it for 16.5 million dollars (about 2.5 billion won), earning a massive profit. This set a new record for the highest price ever at a trading card auction.

Pokémon cards are now being evaluated not just as collectibles, but also as investment assets. According to card trading platform CardLadder, the Pokémon card price index has risen by 3,821% since 2004. Market research firm Strategic Market Research projects the global trading card market will grow from 15.8 billion dollars (about 23.47 trillion won) in 2024 to 23.5 billion dollars (about 34.9092 trillion won) by 2030.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.