HefX - An old schoolmate of mine is a 7th degree BB instructor in Tang Soo Do, which is a traditional style of Korean Karate similar to TKD. He kicks like a mule. VERY heavy legs.
Also, unless there are different competition rulesets that I'm not aware of, TKD rules state a kick must be landed with "trembling shock" for it to score a point. Meaning, it must observably jar or shake the opponents body. A tap or touch doesn't count. 
While that may be true HefX, it is similar to how judo rules have evolved over the years.
The top score in judo, the "KO" throw, is still the "ippon."
By the rules of judo, and these rules have not changed in wording over time, an ippon throw must show "force, control, and have the opponent land mostly on their back."
Now, back in my original sensei's day (he competed in the 60's and 70's), that basically meant you had to fucking plow the guy while remaining standing. If the judges couldn't feel the impact reverberate through their feet, you weren't getting ippon. And "mostly on the back" meant spine had to hit.
Later, sacrafice techniques started to gain more ippons.Then the "drop" techniques, or techniques that had the thrower going down with the opponent.
Then the definition of "mostly on the back" changed, evolving to the point now where if you draw a line through the body, dividing front to back, anything to the rear of the body is termed "the back." Basically, if you landed mostly on your lat muscles, that became "the back."
Even more, the definition of "force and control" changed further, lessening the amount of force needed. I lost at least four matches where I was "thrown" by someone doing a drop ippon seio nage, where I resisted the initial contact, rolled through, and secured a rear naked choke. However, since I was "thrown," the choke didn't matter, and I lost.
The main point of this long rant is that while the terminology may perhaps say one thing, the reality of the situation in a sporting aspect may in fact be totally different.