Major upheavals may soon occur in the National Prosecutor’s Office – according to information reaching journalists of Niezalezna.pl over the past few days. Prosecutor Dariusz Korneluk, referred to by the team of the so-called “13 December coalition” as the “National Prosecutor”, is reportedly set to leave his post. He is allegedly to be replaced by Prosecutor Marek Wełna.
There is only one problem – Wełna does not hold the title of prosecutor of the National Prosecutor’s Office, which is required to take over the management of the PK. Will he obtain it? The application would have to be submitted by… Korneluk himself.
“And he remembers very well how it was handled with Dariusz Barski”, one of Niezalezna.pl’s sources reports.
For over a week, speculation has been reaching journalists of Niezalezna.pl that Korneluk’s days in the office of head of the National Prosecutor’s Office are numbered. His dismissal is said to be only a matter of time. Even people currently holding important positions in the prosecution service have confirmed that they have also heard such rumours.
“It is being spoken about quite openly in the corridors”, one of them stated.
The name of a potential successor is also circulating. It is Marek Wełna. This makes the story particularly interesting, with many twists and turns.
Marek Wełna – the prosecutor from… the Giertych case
Marek Wełna is a well-known prosecutor from Kraków. Shortly after the 13 December coalition took power, he became director of the Department for Economic Crime at the National Prosecutor’s Office. He resigned in mid-2025, but several months earlier he sent a rather surprising letter to the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin, which was then conducting an investigation against Roman Giertych in the Polnord case.
As reported by Niezalezna.pl, at the end of October 2024 Prosecutor Wełna allegedly suggested that the investigation against Giertych should be discontinued, as the evidence was weak and any indictment would “not stand up in court”.
It was not an official order, but a proposal for consideration. Eventually, the investigation was discontinued.
Recently, Wełna returned to prominence when – already under Waldemar Żurek – he became head of the Silesian “branches”, i.e. a regional unit of the National Prosecutor’s Office conducting major investigations. He carried out a personnel purge. Those removed appealed to the National Council of Prosecutors.
“From the letter we obtained through unofficial channels, considering that public interest required it, it appears that the prosecutors revealed the troubling background of their dismissal: head Wełna stated that he was ‘not the decision-maker’ behind their removal, that he came to perform ‘dirty work’ and had been tasked with ‘airing out the walls’”, reported Rzeczpospolita in May this year.
Problem with the nomination
Will Wełna actually replace Korneluk? First, a formal requirement would need to be met. Only a person holding the title of prosecutor of the National Prosecutor’s Office can become its head, and Wełna does not have it. In theory, he could be promoted, and Minister Żurek would likely have no problem with such an appointment.
However, there is a catch. Under the law, the application must be submitted by… Korneluk. “And he is not eager to do it, because he knows exactly what it entails. A repeat of the Dariusz Barski situation”, one of the sources says. “And now a war of attrition is underway. Who will outlast whom.”
This refers to events from more than two years ago. At that time, the then-legal National Prosecutor Dariusz Barski was asked by then Minister Adam Bodnar to sign a nomination request for Prosecutor Jacek Bilewicz. A few hours later, Bilewicz became “acting National Prosecutor”, although such a position does not exist in Polish law. Two months later, Korneluk took over the management of the PK.
On this occasion, it is worth recalling an excerpt from an interview given to Gazeta Polska by Prosecutor Dariusz Barski, describing events from 12 January 2024:
“That day I met in the morning with the Prosecutor General. During the meeting he asked me whether I could submit a request to appoint Prosecutor Bilewicz as National Prosecutor. I note that the request of the National Prosecutor is a necessary condition for such an appointment. The minister justified the request by saying that Mr Bilewicz would represent him in matters related to Poland’s accession to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and that it would be good if he held the title of prosecutor of the National Prosecutor’s Office. I agreed. The minister further announced that he would come to the National Prosecutor’s Office after 4 p.m. He did not reveal the purpose of the visit. When I asked whether the request would be collected at the prosecutor’s office, he asked me to send it earlier to the ministry. Around 3 p.m. the ministry secretary called asking whether the request had been sent. I informed her and the minister that it had been signed by me and sent after 3 p.m. along with the rest of the mail to the ministry. Around 4:30 p.m. the minister arrived at the prosecutor’s office with his adviser and handed me the document I had referred to earlier, asking for confirmation of receipt with the date and time.”