The number of tech startups, however, climbed 5.5 percent on-year to 166,326 during the nine-month period.
The ministry attributed the overall decline to a correction in the number of real estate rental firms, which surged a year ago thanks to government measures to boost the rental house sector.
The data also showed the number of new businesses rose 13.2 percent on-year to 90,572 in September, with that of tech startups gaining 13.2 percent to 15,379.
By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)