The third one in that list: you earned the rank, but for whatever reason (clerical error, deceit/greed, or laziness) your instructor never sent your stuff to the kukkiwon without your knowledge.
There are a lot of reasons this could happen. I don't know about Kukkiwon, but some organizations do it if someone tests for one dan, but is actually able to pass the next dan up. With contribution-based dan ranks (upper ranks for contribution to the art) it's a bit more common, especially where the rank is part of the hierarchy.
Sadly this seems to be at least somewhat common. And the worst part of it is, there's nothing kukkiwon (or any other organization) can do about it. They can't prevent someone from claiming they will send the information, and they don't know if someone is telling the truth, when they claimed they were wronged that way.
And that is why I never pay for tests until the day of them
Even then, if you're in an organization, you can pass the test, and they run off without processing your degree with the org. Which is fine, except for when you go somewhere else, and they have to decide if they want to honor the rank you're claiming.
And you could make a fraud claim with your credit card, if you paid for a service that was never rendered, and a refund is refused. Credit card company will likely give you the refund, and may investigate the transaction and possibly go after the instructor. But it’s out of your hands at that point. At least you got your money back.
There's even a sideways chance that the instructor wants to keep the money so will "resolve the dispute" by filing the promotion with the association.
Yup, might need a kick in the pants to get it done.
As with many things nowadays I think there will soon be an online system to reduce/prevent such occurrences. It would certainly shore up the validity and integrity of the belt system. There would have to be some kind of 2-way system to verify the person testing is qualified on both ends and not on a Rambo mission. This could be a systemic part of school/instructor certification as well.
I could see that within a large organization. Not sure at all how that would work outside the context of a single organization.
I can make a comparison to people who are certified in a skilled trade. Whether it is as an electrician or a doctor there are steps to be certified and recognized as an authority in your field. There have always been shade tree mechanics and witch doctors so I don't think any system would be perfect.
It would be more problematic than that. Imagine if the same system of certification were to be applied to electricians, plumbers, and general contractors. That's not far from analogous to trying to include TKD, BJJ, and Aikido in the same system. At best, you'd need a separate system for each group of arts. And how do you account (in that system) for un-aligned ranks (10-yr shodan vs 3-yr shodan)? I don't really think it's workable. And if it were imposed, it would drive folks to stay within larger organizations, reducing the evolution that happens as groups split.
